A Familiar Stranger
by Grey G
Summary: Grey was living an average life, but then two yeas ago she began dreaming about the worst things possible. When she finally meets one of her characters, she's goes on a journey to help him rescue two of the most important beings in the world. SET AFTER SEASON 7, SPOILERS. There's also Destiel, so read on at your own peril.
1. The Man of Her Dreams

Grey woke with a start. Her breathing was heavy and heart was pounding into her chest. After realising it had been a horrid nightmare, she closed her eyes and made a shaky sigh of relief. A knock came to the door and her best friend stood in the doorway. She regarded Grey with a look that said 'Another?' Grey nodded and fell back onto her pillow. She reached for a towel next to her bed and wiped away the sweat that collected around her forehead and mouth.

"I'm going to go for a walk." Grey said after a few seconds. Her English accent was still prominent, even after living in the US for some time.

"Want me to come with you?" Asked her friend, who had the thickest Manhattan accent Grey had ever heard. She shook her head.

"I need some time by myself. Thanks Al." Alexis exhaled slightly and walked back to her own room. Grey sunk her head and rubbed her eyes with her hands. Her vision went a little blurry afterwards, but it soon went away as she lifted herself up and walked over to her wardrobe.

The mirror caught her eye. She hadn't realised how ill she looked until that moment; her eyes showed her awful sleeping and her skin was riddled with blotches and pimples. Cracked lips and a running nose completed the look. Grey looked away, trying to get rid of the image from her mind. After stripping down to just her underwear, she looked in the mirror again and smiled. Her face may be worse for wares but her body had possibly benefitted from her need to do distract herself. Over the past two years, she'd been going to the gym essentially everyday and this caused her muscles to build up. She wasn't thick with muscle, but her stomach still had a relatively defined six pack and her arms did ripple when she moved them. It was always unusual to see herself like this, as she was once the nerdy, skinny girl in school who was a little overly obsessed with the biological factors that lead to different personalities.

"Let's see them try and beat me up now." She smiled to herself. Covering her body with a bath robe, she made her way over to her bathroom and turned the shower on high. The beat of water on her skin relaxed her tensed up muscles and warmed her through to her bones. The soap made her feel smooth when she dried herself and the shampoo ridded her ash blond hair of any sweat secreted over the night. Her cerulean eyes came into contact with some of the lather; this took away her relaxed state and made her cringe at the stinging sensation that had scorched her eyes.

The shower done, her first move was to put on the new clothes she'd bought herself. Tight jeans, a tight top complete with a red checkered shirt and high ankle bright red converse that were a little scruffy. She dired as much of her hair as possible within ten minutes, but after giving up, tied it back into a low hanging plait. Some loose ends covered her face, but she just put them behind her ears.

Her striped ruck sack contained two books, her phone, keys, purse, a nearly-old-of-ink biro and a writing pad in which her scrawling handwriting would make notes about her dreams.

There was a park not too far away from her apartment and so left to sit on her favourite bench. It was almost always empty apart from the regular dog walkers and so she felt at peace writing down this particular event in her mind. Even though her handwriting was a scribbling mess and highly illegible at the best of times, she took no chances and wrote down all her dreams in as much Latin as her GCSE would allow her to. Some words were much more difficult to translate and she'd have to use an app on her phone in order to get the correct one.

But this time was different. In her usual spot, she saw a large man with nearly shoulder length dark brown hair. Her head was tilted as she had never seen him before, yet felt she knew him. Without even really thinking about it, Grey walked towards the familiar stranger and gave him a questioning look.

"Hey." She said. Normally, she was awful at talking to anyone she didn't know. Her first instinct was always to run away. It was the introverted nerd within her. Yet, she felt she knew this strange man and so was entirely comfortable talking to him. "I thought I'd met everyone in the area."

"Oh, I don't live here." He sounded very distracted. There was a little shake in his eyes and hand which made Grey want to question him more.

"I'm Grey. This is my normal spot, mind if I sit?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry for being in the way."

"Don't be, sit down with me. You look troubled."

"You could say that."

"Have we met?"

"I don't, uh, think so."

"Huh..." Grey trailed off. "You wanna talk? I've got a doctorate in psychology and more specifically, body language. There is definitely something up."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, sorry. I feel like I've met you before." She smiled and the corners of her eyes wrinkled up. _That's what Dean does_ Sammy thought to himself. "I was out of line. I won't bother you again." After bringing out her favourite book, _Great Expectations_, and reading for a couple minutes, she felt the bench shift slightly as the stranger turned to face her.

"I think I do need to talk to someone." He said. Grey's mouth perked up slightly. Sam sighed. _He does that too._

"Well then. Talk to me, and trust me, I've heard everything."

"My brother and an angel friend of ours killed a Leviathan and then the King of Hell took a prophet I was meant to be protecting after I realised that my brother and the angel had disappeared." He said quickly.

"Right. That one's new." Grey said. And then it sunk into her. "Oh, shit." She whispered to herself.

"What... What is it?"

"I knew I recognised you!" Grey cheered. "You're Samuel Winchester."

"How do you..."

"And your brother Dean and Castiel killed Richard Roman. Crowley took Kevin and... Do you know where your brother and Castiel are?"

"No, do you?" He looked at her expectantly.

"I... I don't know." She lied. _He does not need to know just yet._

"Oh, well, great. How do you know that anyways?"

"I... uh... dreamt it?" Grey expected a back lash but instead Sam gave her a _seriously? _face and burst out laughing.

"I know that feeling." It was clear to Grey that this had been the first time he'd laughed in months. As it was getting closer to Christmas she couldn't imagine what it must be like. His parents are dead, his uncle is dead, his guardian angel and brother are essentially dead and everything's after him.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone insane." Grey croaked.

"I did for a while, but that was when..."

"Lucifer was in you brain." Grey finished.

"Yeah..." A flicker of a smile crossed his face. "When did these dreams start?"

"A couple years ago. I've written them all down." She rummaged through her bag and lifted out her thick notebook. "Like, every single one I've ever had. Some of them aren't related to hunting or anything, but I tagged the ones that had the same theme in them." She said and then glanced down at the tag filled book. "Which is apparently most of them." Her mouth flickered into a smile for a split second again. "Here. Take it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Some of those things I'd rather forget."

"Sorry."

"It's worse for you." She said softly. But Sam knew that it was just as bad for her. She wasn't used to the constant fight and then suddenly, she'd have dreams with a crap tonne of horrible things happening to people she soon began to know.

"What were the other dreams about?"

"Oh, they were real stupid. I dreamt I was with you guys, living a normal life. But they were really, really good ones."

"How so?"

"Well, no one died," She counted one on her finger, "there were no monsters or angels or demons or anything," Two, "and I was talked to. In the dreams _about_ you two, I wasn't seen once. I guess it was more like a birds eye view. But in the other ones... well, I guess that it was much more comfortable. I assumed my brain was making up for the fact I was getting a load of crap." She looked over at Sam, who was struggling to read her book. "Here, I'll read it Sammy." Sam sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes. She was like a female version of him.

"Please, don't call me Sammy." And Grey kind of knew what was wrong.

"Do I remind you of him?"

"A bit. You don't look like him, but..."

"But I've got the same unconscious reactions to things. Like saying Sammy or my mouth twitching."

"Exactly."

"Sorry." She put an arm around his shoulders. Her eyes grew wide and she looked behind him. "Dude, you're huge." Sam really laughed this time. Grey thought it sounded like a hearty moose. Birds flew away at the sudden outlet of happiness and Grey's giggling sounded like that of a ten year old.

"Wanna go get some coffee?" Asked Grey when the laughing stopped. "I know a good place down the street."

"Why not." Sam said, more to himself than Grey. "Sure." He smiled. Grey stood first and packed away the things she'd taken out of her bag.


	2. Coffee's a Weakness of Mine

The coffee shop was quite bare. Simple, plain chairs and tables with simple and plain waiters and waitresses running around taking the average orders and giving the average coffee out to the average man or woman.

When Sam and Grey entered, the former opening the the door first, the expected bell rang. They both walked over to a table that was in the corner of the shop and sat down. A waitress walked over to them and they ordered some tea and a vanilla latte. Grey laughed when Sam had said his order. She stopped herself when she realised that Dean probably did that too.

"Let's talk about the matter at hand. Where've you looked so far?" Grey asked. Sam rummaged through his bag. He brought out a laptop, opened it and swivelled it around.

"I'm pretty sure that whatever that site is saying, I want to know."

"The Leviathan..." Grey spoke very slowly as she analysed every word. "Uh... There's something about inevitable doom."

"You can read it?"

"I'm fluent-ish in ancient Greek." She waved off, still concentrating on the words at hand. Sam laughed again. "What?" She said, still glaring at the screen.

"It's just... what were the chances of us meeting? You're the exact person who can help me."

"Is this because I dream about you, 'cause that's not my fault. Although, they're not too bad."

"I know, it's just... I've been looking for them for months."

"Please tell me you've taken other jobs."

"Some. I haven't got many contacts and each one says how sorry they are for Bobby, Dean and Cas. It's just..."

"Dude, don't break down on me. You do not want to be more emotional than a girl."

"You're not a girl, you're a frigging genius."

"I wouldn't go that far." Grey said. Their drinks arrived and they sipped some of it. Sam soon worked out that when Grey was working, it would be a poor idea to interrupt her. Her eyes scanned the page at least three times before working back over each individual word. Her right index finger was twitching into the shape of words and she'd occasionally rub her eyes.

Whilst she was doing that, Sam sat back and closed his lids for a moment. It had been hard the past few months, trying to find his brother. He didn't really know where to begin. They just vanished. But he had an idea in his head, one that was becoming more and more clearer by the day.

And he knew by the look on her face that Grey knew exactly where they were, but she wasn't about to tell him any time soon. He could tell that she was too stubborn and too caring to even mention it to him. She just worked.

After a few more minutes of her staring at the immensely long piece of Greek text, she rummaged through her bag and brought out her journal that she had previously shown to Sam. She wrote a lot of symbols which Sam recognised as Hebrew into it and he soon gave up watching. It was bad enough trying to learn how to understand another language without watching someone translate Greek into Hebrew.

He ordered another drink and a lettuce sandwich. Grey's tea seemed to have disappeared and so he asked for another. The silence in that coffee shop was unbearable. Sam almost wished that Lucifer was still there. After he had gone and everyone had gone, he'd been so damn lonely. No one to talk to but his own mind and girls he'd pick up when it got really bad.

Once, he'd been arrested for drunk driving and was lucky the cop was a woman. It didn't take a lot, but Sam soon talked his way out of it. It never left him about how badly that situation could have gone. If his finger prints had been taken and they worked out his identity, well, he'd be screwed. There would be no way in Hell that he would get out of that one. Trying to convince police and a jury that it wasn't actually him, but two Leviathans that had shifted into him and his brother in order for them to be arrested and not able to do anything so that they could make us all into their own personal zombies and eaten would never have gone down well.

Sam glanced over at Grey again as their new drinks and his food was set out in front of them. She'd started a whole new page of Hebrew and he couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Anything pop up?" He asked as quietly as his booming voice would allow. Grey raised up her left hand before lifting her head up.

"Pardon?" Sam stared at her for a couple seconds before sighing.

"Never mind." He mumbled. As soon as he said this, her head was buried into her journal again.

He wished he had a book. A newspaper caught his eye and he decided to go through it quickly. He found a pen in his pocket and went through the paper for anything that might end up being supernatural. There were a number of things that sounded like ghosts and other easy things that he and Dean could do together. Something caught his eye and he read the story further.

_A man was found decapitated today minutes, his wife says, after he had gotten out of bed. The police are treating this death as suspicious due to it being similar to others in the surrounding area. _

Sam was about to say something to Grey before realising it was very unlikely she'd done anything like this in her life. But she'd seen Dean and Sam do it for two years running and that had to count for something. Well, she'd seen them run around trying to sort out Sam's head and killing Leviathans before they nearly succeeded in eating everyone for themselves. In fact, Sam was surprised that she had been so kind to him. She didn't seem the one to tolerate killing of any kind; there was a look in her eye similar to Jess'. She'd never hurt a soul, even a corrupted one that'd cut off all her limbs before finally deciding to gauge out her eyes balls in pity.

The image was shaken out of his head when Grey tapped him on the arm.

"Dude, you look like you've seen a ghost." Grey said, seriousness covering her entire facade. Her mouth twitched a little as she tried to suppress laughter at her own, awful joke. Sam smiled a little, simply because it was so bad.

"Well, seeing as you're talking now, you've got something?"

"Yes and no." She said bluntly. _Good, _thought Sam, _she's just going to tell me straight. _"I assume you're aware of the fact that all of Eve's creations, when killed, enter Purgatory." Sam nodded, bewildered by the fact that she'd found this out in such a short amount of time, only to realise she'd seen him and Dean work it out two years earlier. "So, I dug around a bit more, translated some scriptures and have come to the conclusion that Dean and Castiel are now in Purgatory." Sam didn't register this until some moments later. He sighed and buried his head in his hands. "Sorry, I should have said a bit more gently. I thought you just wanted it straight."

"No, no, I did... I had an idea they were there anyway. It's nice to have some clarification." Grey raised her eye brows at him.

"I just told you that your brother and angel friend are in a place in which the only time something ever got out was because your angel friend opened it. You're allowed to be pissed off." She turned the laptop around and a picture of a kitten was up on the screen. "Cute things make everything better." She moved the chair out of the way and picked up her bag. She gave Sam a card which had her name and number on it. "If you need anything, absolutely anything, you call me. I know exactly what you're going through. I was there." She tapped the side of her head knowingly. "And don't bother lying to me about things, 'cause I'll find out one way or another." Her coat hung loosely over her shoulders.

Only when Grey was walking away from him did Sam realise that she was wearing a beige trench coat.

"Grey wait." He said. She turned around and sat back down.

"Yep."

"When did you get that coat?"

"A few years ago, why?"

"Ok. Just. Déjà vu."

"Hey, you think this is déjà vu, imagine talking to someone you dreamed about. Before you met them." She smirked. "You spotted something in the paper earlier, what was it?" Sam creased his brow. She'd been watching him and paying attention to what he was doing whilst translating ancient Greek into Hebrew. This was just unfair.

"It's nothing really. I just found some easy ghost jobs and one that looked a bit weird."

"I think you should do an 'easy ghost job' before you do anything else. Loosen up your hunting muscles."

"But, I need to get Dean out of Purgatory."

"Hey, just 'cause your brother's in Purgatory, doesn't mean that you should stop doing what's right. With great power, comes great responsibility." She quoted, an unshaken solemness shrouding her face. It was genuine. _She's one for the general public, that's for sure._

"Don't quote Spiderman again."

"That's an indication."

"Of what?"

"That you're going to let me come with you when I ask." The right side of her mouth went up in a smirk.

"Don't you have to study or something?"

"Nope. I passed my doctorate years ago and I've the financial stability to live off my money for some years yet. I'm a child prodigy thing, no biggy. That's how I'm learnt ancient Greek so quickly."

"Wait, you learned some ancient Greek just?"

"Yerp. Just not how to say it yet, that's a whole different party. So, am I coming or not?" There was a slight eagerness in her voice. Sam thought about it for some seconds, the same things running through his mind. She knew what she was doing, she'd seen him and Dean hunt before and with a memory like hers, must've picked something up. And it also meant that she knew the kind of danger that she would be in, the type of crowd some like him would attract.

But she was so innocent compared to any hunter he'd seen. Nothing bad had happened to her. The only thing that had gotten her close to the supernatural was the fact she dreamt about what Sam and Dean had done and that was likely because she was a prophet.

Sam trusted her judgment and realised that he'd seen the similar combination of child prodigy and prophet some months previously. He laughed a little.

"Fine. I'll need to train you up first."

"Train me? What, you don't think I've shot down a couple cans when I was younger? I was the school shooting champion."

"Welcome to the club." Sam said. He stood up this time, drinking down the last of his drink and Grey the last of hers. Sam went out first and Grey caught up to him.

He didn't notice the waitress staring at them both, her eyes no longer their brown self.

Just a deep, dark black.


	3. Anybody Can Stay in a Motel

Sam regretted his decision to let Grey come with him as soon as he walked to the car. Grey had a thick rucksack on her which she dumped into the back seat. She walked to the passenger seat and opened the door and sat down gently. Stroking the car's worn leather dreamily, Grey looked as though she was in one of her favourite worlds. And in a weird way, she was.

"Dude, I know I've seen this car before, but I never appreciated how awesome it was." She seemed to realise something and then twisted around and saw a little toy soldier rammed into the car handle. "Exactly how I dreamt it." She said enchantedly.

The reason Sam regretted her presence was because she kept on forgetting to bring something. She was constantly running backwards and forwards with a charger or a book or three, kept saying that it was for her own sanity. After the fourth time, Sam nearly gave up and left her there, but she went back to the house on Sam's suggestion.

He knew that it would be hard for her to keep in contact with essentially anyone whilst on the road, so he told her to take a picture of her family and one of her best friend and room mate with her. They were in a normal pose, family closely held together with arms and heads sticking out of shoulders. Alexis was sitting next to Grey on a foldable chair and was lying out in the sun. Sam took these pictures and felt a great sense of loss within him. He was taking Grey away from these people and he felt selfish in doing so. But if he said this, she'd say something really weird and he'd just accept it. He'd already worked that out about her.

But, he found that he was selfish, even though she was the one that suggested for her to travel with him. She was so much like Dean with her little jokes and smirks; and she was wearing a coat almost exactly the same a Cas' and her eyes were just as blue as his. She was as smart as Kevin and as sweet as Jess and for a moment he was uncertain about her reality. Yet, she was just too human and evidently had a family so couldn't be anything but good.

"Why the long face?" She asked. Sam could imagine how many times he'll be asked that over the coming weeks.

"I'm worried that I'm taking you away from your life."

"You are." She said bluntly. "But, I want you to." She smirked again. "So, easy job to make me used to the experience of hunting things and then we can timetable it so that we can have some time at the end of everyday for searching for your brother and getting his ass back down to Earth. Or up. Or from whatever position to Earth he may be."

"You sound like you've figured it all out."

"Most of it. I'll make you work Winchester."

"Yeah. And what kind of name is Grey Greethar? It sounds like it's from a fairy tale or something."

"One that is my pride and joy. My middle name's Alexander. Yeah. Samuel Winchester though? That's a mouthful."

"Why do you think people just call me Sam."

"But you're not just Sam. You're the most important Sam there is and probably ever will be."

"And you're the only Grey I've ever come across, so that's gotta count for something."

"Cheers to our great names." She lifted out two beers from her bag and popped the caps off with her thumb. Grey saw Sam's small surprise and smiled to herself. "What, I'm a child prodigy and you're surprised when I can pop a lid? If you must know, you have to get the angle correct and for the lid to be slightly loosened before you can even attempt to pop a lid with your thumb. It also helps to be stupid strong." She said as she poked Sam's arms. Sam clinked his beer to hers and took a sip.

Grey had been asleep for some hours before her phone rang. Sam glanced over at the small screen and saw that it was from her friend Alexis. He looked over at Grey and saw that she wasn't stirring. He picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" He said.

"Oh, hi. I'm Grey's friend, do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's fast asleep in my car."

"And, who're you?"

"An old friend." Sam lied easily. "We're going on a road trip, I thought she told you."

"Oh, yeah, she did. Sorry. Well, can you tell her I said hi and that she's missing out on my cookies." Sam laughed a little.

"Sure."

"G'night." And the phone hung up. Sam sighed and put the phone back where he found it and looked back at Grey. _She is a heavy sleeper._ He was almost grateful. It would mean that he could sneak out in the night and do some extra, more un-orthodox approaches to finding a way to get Dean and Cas back.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About four hours."

"Seriously? Wow, I'm normally awful at sleeping in cars."

"Your friend called, told me to tell you hi and that you're missing out on her cookies." Grey laughed loudly and full of joy and it sounded completely ridiculous. Sam chuckled a little.

"Oh, she would say that. Thanks for answering it."

"No problem. I didn't know whether or not you would've minded, but I just..." He stopped himself before he confessed to her how creeped out he was by how much she reminded him of the people he's lost.

"Maybe I could drive? You look shattered."

"Part of the job."

"Not on my watch."

"No, Grey." Sam said forcefully. He gripped the wheel tightly and his knuckles went white. For someone who made a living out of knowing how to read people, that was a rookie mistake. Of course Sam would never let her drive. Dean probably barely let him do any of the driving, and that would only be when Dean was unconscious.

Grey relaxed her head against the head rest again and she breathed in the deep smell of the worn leather. Never did she think that this car was real and now that she was in it, she knew just how incredible it is. It was long and black and had the loudest engine Grey had ever heard from a car. There were many imperfections in her and the amount of times she's been blown up and put back together is incredible. Small cracks were littered around the car. The back seats were rarely used and this showed by the lack of rips and tears in them.

A cardboard box full of cassette tapes were on the floor and Grey picked them up. Sam glanced over at her and tensed up a little. Grey saw this and put them back down.

"There's only mullet rock in there." Sam said roughly.

"Like, AC/DC and Metallica?"

"Yeah." He recoiled, only speaking again after some minutes went by. "Want to put one on?"

"Are you sure? They're Dean's..." Grey said softly.

"I like Back in Black." He said staring forward, neck and arms a little tense.

"Me too." Grey said whilst reaching over, lifting up the box again and picking through until she found it. She gave it to Sam and he put it into the player.

The songs blasted out and Grey found herself humming the tune. Sam mumbled the words and Grey sung louder until they were both essentially shouting the words. After every song, they'd try and sing louder and they'd let each other take solos. Grey found herself playing air guitar whilst Sam played the beat by hitting his thumbs against the wheel.

The album had finished some time before they'd gotten to a motel, but they were singing the songs and anything else they knew by heart. They were laughing to themselves when they parked up and realised that they had sung all the way there. It was incredibly late, some time around four in the morning, but someone was working the graveyard shift and was asleep on the counter.

"Excuse me?" Said Sam's voice. He coughed a little and the man at the desk woke up.

"Huh? Oh, gosh, sorry." He said. His eyes were blood shot and head looked like a murder weapon.

"No problem." Said Sam. "I understand. We'd just like a room for two."

"Sure. Twin or double?"

"Twin." Said Sam and Grey at the same time. The man laughed a little.

"You got room 5, just down the hall."

"Thanks. Sorry for waking you up. We won't tell anyone."

"Cheers." He said before resting his head on the hard surface again.

They found their room and set everything down in it. Grey had an extra pillow and gave it to the guy of shift. Though he was asleep, she lifted his head gently and put it on top of the pillow. She hurried back in time to hear the shower running. She changed quickly into her pyjamas and sat on her bed with her laptop by her crossed legs. A note pad was resting next to her and a pen on her ear. The shower had turned off, but she didn't look up until the door was open.

Sam had a towel wrapped around his waist and was showing an incredibly toned and muscular upper body. Grey shot her eyes down again.

"Sorry. Damn, you're unfair to walk around half naked looking like that."

"Oh, sorry. I've gotta be strong though, part of the job."

"Still." she looked down again. She heard some fumbling and the towel dropping. She wanted to look up at the sound, like a bell ringing in a sweet shop.

"Grey, you can look."

"Right!" She said. "Dude, your _arms._"

"What?" He said uncaring.

"You're just... I mean, I've seen you naked, in my dreams... That sounded better in my head, but are you _kidding me._" She practically cried out.

"Grey..." Sam said. There was a tone of embarrassment in his voice. It hit her that telling him that she'd dreamed about him having sex was an awful thing to tell someone you've just met. "You really do know everything." He sighed

"Sorry."

"Hey, you can't control it. I don't blame you." He slipped on a top and climbed into his bed. "It's just..."

"I talk too much." He didn't reply. "I'll do some research. G'night." Sam faced her.

"Anything pop up yet?"

"Not even five minutes and you ask me." He apologised and covered his eyes with his arm. He went to sleep immediately and his soft snoring was the only thing Grey heard.

She stopped looking at the page after an hour of searching. There was one thing that she my pursue tomorrow, but she wanted to have a go at this hunting thing. She picked up the newspaper and noted the closest location to them and was guided through tonnes of stories.

Soon, she isolated one story and wrote it in the middle of her page. Looking at her watch, she knew that it was a bad idea to go through it anymore and went to sleep at six, minutes before the sun started rising.

The man was still asleep when the woman came into the motel just after Grey went to sleep.

"Hey, sleepy guy!" She shouted. He woke with a start.

"What?" He said dozily. "Sorry ma'am, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to borrow that suit you're wearing." Her eyes turned black and a dark smog rose from her lungs and into those of the unexpecting employee.

"Tight fit." He mumbled. He glanced at the dead woman on the floor. "Better take out the trash." With one hand he lifted her from the floor and dumped her into a black plastic bag. She glanced down at the pillow and threw it across the floor. "Stupid girl."

Grey began to sweat and mumbled in fear of something. Sam woke when she let out a low plea for help. He saw her and sat on her bed, knowing that it would be good for him to be there when she woke up.


	4. Oh, to Kill Again

Grey's eyes burst open in fear. Her breathing was harsh and rasping but she felt an unusually warm presence around her, holding her. There were only noises and blurred shapes like there were after every dream she had.

This one had been particularly bad. She'd seen Dean and Castiel in Purgatory and it was a lot worse that she or Sam could ever have thought. Every corner held a new danger. Every single damned soul wanted to kill them both and they were barely surviving. Grey had called out, tried to get them to listen but of course, they couldn't hear her. She couldn't tell them that she and Sam were doing absolutely everything they could to save them. And when they ran, she felt personally responsible for keeping them safe in that endless dark wood.

Coming to her senses, Grey realised that the person she was being held against was Sam. His large arms had surrounded her body, protecting her from the apparition in her mind. His voice finally crept into her ears as something understandable.

"Ssh, Grey, you're safe. Everything's fine." His tone was so calm that Grey nearly went asleep again. Peeking upwards, Grey saw Sam's jaw move, the lower muscles tensing and relaxing when needed. She registered the fact that her head was against his chest and her eyes closed at the solace he'd given her.

"Thanks." She managed to breath out. She concentrated on the regular beats of Sam's heart. Bom-bom. Bom-bom. The repetitive, slow pattern made Grey's head sink into his care ever further and she found herself asleep once more.

Taking heed of her limp head, Sam propped up her pillow and laid her down as gently as he could. He'd made a promise to himself that he would look after her, no matter the costs and this was the least he could do for her. Examining her innocent face, Sam began to doubt his actions. _God, Sam, what're you doing?_ He thought to himself; he could practically hear Dean's reply telling him that it's good he's becoming close to someone else.

Grey stirred again half an hour later. She woke when Sam looked over at her; just to check, he'd told himself. Moving wearily, Grey made it out of the bed and to the 'kitchen' from earlier. They had bought numerous un-perishable foods and Grey told Sam that a camping stove would be helpful. So, armed with a pan and flame, Grey went outside and lit it up. Minutes later, she returned, hot tomato soup in her hands.

"Thanks Grey."

"You ought to thank the camping cooker." She replied, blowing onto her soup filled spoon and after deciding it was cool enough, had a taste. Sam did the same. They didn't talk during their warm meal, but Sam had a lot of questions. Ones that he felt it better to ask when they aren't likely to be listened to.

They left an hour later, after Grey washed herself and Sam had packed all their belongings away. Of course, He searched through what Grey had written previously, but with the combination of scribbled handwriting and Hebrew words, it was almost impossible to read.

The man at the till was still there, and Sam raised an eye brow at him.

"So graveyard shift wasn't enough?"

"Yeah, but I got a lot of sleep, so I ain't complaining. You checking out?"

"Yeah." Sam knew something was wrong about this man that he hadn't felt previously. He glanced down and there was a small amount of sulphur on the counter. Sure enough Grey tugged his sleeve. Concern was knitted into her eyes, a look that was copied in Sam's own.

"You two alright?" Said the man. His voice and eyes weren't convincing them anymore.

"Hm." Grey said shortly. She saw Sam reach for his back pocket and hold the handle of a hidden knife. Reaching into her bag, Grey held a bag full of salt. The guy saw them both tense up.

"Crap" Grey threw out some salt and the demon cringed upon contact. Whilst she drew a devil's trap as quickly as time would allow, Sam cut and contained the demon. The knife was recognisably the one that could kill a demon with one strike and the demon there knew this. He was concentrating more on not dying than anything else. Then the demon through Sam to the side and he dropped the knife on impact.

Grey walked backwards, a look of defeat on her face. The demon laughed and walked forward. His hand was lifted and Grey's throat was so close. When he walked no more, Grey's expression turned to triumph.

"Oldest trick in the book." She said. The demon growled and stared upwards. There was a perfect pentagram drawn on the ceiling.

"When the Hell did you draw that?" He grumbled.

"That would be telling. Sam, do you mind?" She gestured. Though the demon was trapped, Grey was scared out of her wits. A demon, a real demon, had tried to kill her. Sam grunted and picked up the knife. Grey's eyes landed on a large water fountain and next to it were some cups. She walked over, filled the cups with water and began chanting over them. The demon looked at her, hatred all over her physique.

"Who's your pet?"

"A friend. What does Crowley want?" Sam said. He flashed the knife in the light and the demon swallowed.

"He just wants to make sure you're doing OK." The demon said, fake sincerity in his words. "I wasn't going to hurt you."

"We both know that's a load of crap." Grey called, whilst walking over with two cups of holy water. "So, you may as well tell us the truth. It'll be easier for all of us."

"Tough little nut, isn't she."

"Darling, you have no idea." The demon laughed at her threat. Grey was trying to be tough, to scare the demon, but it was useless. Sam was a little worried; he could see the irritation grow in Grey. She was becoming something too different from her muddled up self.

"What's your name?" Sam asked, just trying to change the matter of the subject.

"My name? You want to know my _name_? I heard you were a gentlemen, but that's too kind."

"Name, damn it." Grey retaliated and Sam shifted his weight.

"Beatrice."

"Tell us what Crowley wants." Sam said. His voice was calm and monotone, bored even. Grey saw this and was mildly impressed.

"And if I don't?"

"We all know the end of that tale." Grey said. She said the first few words of the exorcism and the demon jolted this way and that.

"Fine." Said the demon and soon the room was filled with black smoke. The man crumpled to the floor and Sam dragged him away. There wasn't much to clean, thank God, but it was going to be hard to explain to the owner and anyone else who walked in about the massive pentacle on the ceiling.

"How's he holding up?" Grey asked. They were sitting on either side of the man and Sam had just finished checking for vitals.

"He'll be fine." He replied, standing up. Holding Grey's hand he pulled her onto her feet with ease. But she was still on a little adrenaline high and almost fell on top of him.

"Sorry."

"Not a problem. Let's get out of here." Grey nodded and walked just behind him to the car. They dumped everything and went on their way.

After an hour, they both knew that they were just driving in a straight line, no destination in mind. Grey suggested this Texan ghost she had found out about and Sam agreed. He had to distract himself somehow. A call came to his phone and he answered it. Grey pinched him and whilst he was holding his hurt arm, Grey grabbed the phone telling him that he wouldn't risk their lives for a phone call.

"Sam's phone, who's this?" She asked, unsure how hunters normally answered their calls.

"I'm Garth, and who're you?" He replied flirtatiously. Grey turned her head from the phone and told Sam his name and he moaned in annoyance. In all honesty, Grey wasn't surprised.

"I'm Grey, a friend of Sam's. What's up?"

"I need to talk to Sam. It's important."

"Well, tell me and then I'll tell him." She was beginning to understand Sam's frustration.

"Are you English?"

"Yes, I'm English." Grey looked up at Sam and mouthed 'how do you know this guy?' and continued her conversation with the man. "Look, kiddo, tell me what's up, I'm too tired."

"Uh... Right, well, I've got this ghost up in Killeen, Texas and it's really confusing me."

"Ghost in Killeen? You lucky guy, we were already headed there."

"I thought the Winchesters were too busy dealing with the bigger fish." He said. _Well why're you calling then, you idiot. _Grey thought to herself. A feeling passed through her and she cringed when she realised something. He thought there were still the two Winchesters.

"Do you know about Dean?" Grey was worried and she really didn't want to be the one to say.

"No, what's wrong?" Grey put the phone to her chest.

"He doesn't know about him." She said, whispering for no reason. "What the Hell do I say?" Sam just stared in front of him.

"Just..." He started, but was hesitant to continue. "Just tell him." He clicked in a cassette and put the volume up a little high.

"I don't really know how to say this, but uh... Well, Dean and Castiel, they killed the head Leviathan. But they vanished and we worked out that they're in Purgatory."

"Dean's in... Purgatory, I didn't even know that place existed!" Garth exclaimed a little too much delight in his voice.

"Dude, this is not a good thing." Grey shouted down the phone. "We'll be in Texas by tomorrow. Bye." And she clicked off the phone, furious with this supposed hunter.

"It's not his fault. He doesn't know us much; I've only met him twice."

"That's not an excuse." She sighed. "Wait, he's the real skinny guy, right?" Sam nodded. "Thought so." After closing her eyes, her ears heard Sam humming the words to the songs on the tape. She didn't join in like he'd hoped she would. Disheartened, but not defeated, Sam pulled up to the curve and Grey looked up at Sam when they stopped.

"Grey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Carry on driving."

"Me and Dean didn't talk. And look at what happened." Sam said. Grey was touched by his honesty towards her.

"I'm not as important as you though." She replied with a slight smile.

"Oh, come on, of course you are." Sam said, a little annoyed that she'd even think that.

"I don't like the fact Gary, what ever his name was, didn't know about Dean and when I told him he was fucking _excited. _I don't know how you can even stand him."

"He's an idiot. But he's also a hunter." Sam contemplated. "A bad hunter, but I've seen worse." He said whilst looking at Grey. A small smirk passed over his face and the infectious grin was caught by Grey.

"Hey, I'm the one that's dreaming about Purgatory." She said slightly. A wave of sleep over came her and she closed her eyes and rested immediately. Sam sighed and kicked himself. He'd been hiding it from Grey, and maybe she was just too tired to even notice, but he was beyond fuming over Garth. How dare he, after everything, how _dare he._

But Sam took comfort in the fact that Grey was honest. At least she was reliable. And it hit him whilst driving as he went through what she had said. She had been dreaming about Purgatory.

Grey was still sleeping when Sam pulled up to the motel Garth texted him to meet at in the morning along with asking for Grey's number. This was closely followed by a message saying how sorry he was, but Sam deleted it as soon as he read 'sorry'. Sighing, Sam got out of the car and booked a room for two. He put all of their belongings into the room and when finished was uncertain what to do with Grey. Sam didn't want to wake her, so he opted for the first thought that went through his head and lifted her out of the car. She was much lighter that he'd previously thought and she was soon resting on the bed next to the window.

As he researched about Purgatory, Sam could see Dean laughing at him for being so gentle and kind with her. And Sam smiled. At least with these hallucinations, Sam was glad to see their faces. Yet, he was worried because Purgatory had awful, rotten souls inside meaning Dean and Castiel seemed like... well, angels in comparison.

_Castiel, I'll get you and Dean out of that Hell hole. Please, if you hear this, I am doing everything I can. _He thought in clasped hands. The idea to pray to Castiel had just come to him and Sam was hoping that it was enough.

* * *

They were both running. Running and sprinting and tripping but never stopping. If they stopped they were dead.

Even though they were described as Demi-Gods, they went where everything was. A herd of Tricksters were making the ground fall into an abyss behind them. Dean's legs were wearing out and he felt them burn like never before. Castiel on the other hand was too busy fighting out a flurry of Werewolves to help him.

Dean was lying on the ground, exhausted. A Trickster was about to strike him again when he grabbed a long piece of wood and stabbed it right in the heart. He had no idea if that would do anything, but he soon found that it was a way that made them unconscious for a small amount of time.

After this brilliant revelation, Dean ran around putting the Tricksters to sleep with each blow. With one left, he screamed at it to give him silver bullets and a gun. The handle landed in his hand and the bullets were already loaded, and so Dean aimed the gun in one direction and the stake in the other.

"Cas! Move it!" Dean commanded and as soon as Castiel was gone, Dean fired the six bullets and each one was a successful shot. Smug with himself, he nodded at the Trickster in small thanks and ran over to Castiel who was a little battered. "Come on big guy, let's get you some place safe." Dean grunted as he picked his friend up and saw that he was already healing his scars.

A crack behind them made the angel jump out of Dean's arms. Dean pointed the gun at what ever it was hoping it was enough to scare the creature any, even though it was completely empty of rounds. It was the Trickster that had helped him and Dean realised that it wanted to aid them further.

"That's convenient." Dean mumbled to himself. "What's your name?" Dean asked, but he was given no reply. The Trickster would have taken on human form, like it would on Earth but Dean was completely unfazed when it happened to be a two foot long, six legged dog/cat mongrel. When he'd first seen a vampire though, that image was to stay in his mind for a while.

Castiel looked at the small creature with utter fascination. "Is he trustful?" Asked Castiel. He was still staring at the poor creature and Dean turned his head to face him.

"Look at the colour of his eyes." Dean said simply. "We need all the help we can get, and a creature that can make things out of thin air is a friend of mine."

Castiel was still staring at the eyes of the Trickster. Every creature, no matter what it was had the same red glowing eyes but this one had yellow eyes and they were much more pleasant than the others.

"How long have we been in here?" Asked Dean.

"Under a month." Castiel replied. "approximately eighteen days."

"You've been here for six months." Said the Trickster its voice a mixture of a growling dog and a human - one that he must have taken the form of. "But also eighteen days."

"Someone gonna explain?"

"We have been here for eighteen days but six months would have gone by if we were on Earth." Clarified Castiel. Dean thought for a moment.

"Damn it Sammy, what's taking you so long?" He said. Seconds later, Castiel was on the floor with his head against the ground.

"Dean, Sam has prayed to me." He said simply. Dean was excited, eager to hear his brother's message. "He said he'd get us out and that he's doing everything he can."

"Don't lie to me Cas."

"I'm not. Your brother is trying." Dean sighed and walked away. They had to move quickly before the Tricksters and werewolves wake up again. The home they had built took them a day at most and it consisted of branches and leaves. As there was a Trickster as their companion, he decided to make them a tree house and it appeared instantly. Dean was grateful, but still didn't trust the little being completely.

But he should as the Trickster's eyes turned a little more green.


	5. Case of a Throat Slitter

Eyes open, Grey saw Sam moving around again. Would she ever wake before him? It seemed unlikely as she wasn't the only one with bad dreams. Sam was replaying everything that had happened in his head. How Dean had killed the Leviathan and the wicked smile on Dick's face when it happened. The Leviathan would turn and stare at Sam. He'd be mocked by him, mocked about how much Sam had given up for Grey and how he'd failed to save Dean on so many occasions.

That morning, Grey was supremely grateful her dream was one of the rare good ones. Ones that consisted of her being in the Impala, Sam and Dean at the front complaining about the fact Castiel wasn't going to meet them at the football game they were all going to. It was so odd, so impossible, Grey knew it was a dream as soon as it started.

The shower was running and soon enough, it stopped. Sam walked out, towel around his waist, but Grey said nothing. Busy reading, Grey didn't notice Sam getting changed some metres away.

At ten o'clock, they heard a knock on their door. Sam was sitting by the desk, Grey leaning over him to see the laptop screen, loosely translating many pieces of text. None of it was useful though. Garth stood waiting and Sam opened the door. The first thing Garth thought was how tired Sam looked.

"Hey Sam. I'm sorry." Was all that Garth could muster up. He'd spent all morning trying to work out what on earth he would say to Sam, but didn't come up with anything good.

"It's appreciated. Come in." Sam said with a small nod. All his annoyance with the man went away with the small words.

"Right... Hey there pretty lady." Garth said. Grey snickered at the man. He was tall but he was lankier than she.

"Hey _Garth_. Great name." Grey smiled smugly.

"Hey, what did I do?" He said. "Anyway, you're gonna love this one."

"Garth, we know." Sam said. "We were coming here anyway, remember?"

"Oh, right." Garth said, then chuckled to himself.

"So, what've you done so far?" Sam asked. He yawned a little.

"Not much to be honest. I can't even work out what it is." Garth shrugged. "I only got onto the case a day ago."

"Who're the victims?" Grey asked. She'd watched enough crime dramas to know that victimology is important and that translated to hunting.

"Sally Jones and Henry Krim." Sam said. "They're different ethnicities too, so they're not related." He handed Grey a piece of paper. It had the pictures of the two victims and some information about them. Grey was surprised by how neat Sam's handwriting was.

"They were the same age, so that might be a factor." She suggested.

"Yeah... I think they went to the same school." Said Garth, not very confident with what he just said. Grey confirmed his thoughts with a nod and a suggestion to go and check it out. As she was a doctor, she could easily get in and talk to some of the older teachers there. The two men agreed, but neither could decide who would go with her. Garth wanted to go claiming in a childish manner that 'he was here first' but Sam went with the obvious option of 'shut up Garth, my brother's in Purgatory'. That quieted them both, enough for them to realise Grey had already left. The school wasn't far, so it was no surprise when she passed both vehicles and turned a corner down the road.

The school was a brilliant building and Grey could see the attraction. She'd grown up close to Oxford - not _in_ Oxford, her family was no where near rich enough - and traveled regularly to the magnificent buildings there. It was where she met a professor, the one who saw that little sparkle in her eyes and knew there and then that she could tell things about a person that not many could.

Professor Julian Boric was the one that told the university to take her on, even after she moved to the states. They had kept in contact for a very long time and they communicated only a little by e-mail. Grey was convinced to come back to England after some years in the US and she was constantly mocked for her American antics. But she passed easily, mostly because she knew a lot already. The professor was the first to realise she was an undiscovered child prodigy, one that wasn't tamed and wasn't completely capable of everything that she could do.

But, by God, could that girl remember stuff, Julian would say to everyone he met. You gave her three books and she'd read them all in a day. Twice. And she remembered everything about them. He just guessed that she had a knack of remembering things as there was so much room in her head, but he was never sure; the properties of the brain weren't what he was good at. Memory, he understood. And Grey was good at it.

So Grey stood outside this old school and was very impressed with it. As soon as she walked inside though, it was like entering a bad memory. American schooling wasn't one of the greatest time of her life, but Grey counted it as an experience and that experience was worth it in the long run. Yes, she was kicked and shoved and dunked, but none of that mattered to her. She went there to learn. Anyway, she showed them. She was sleeping in the same room as the most attractive man she'd ever come by.

The receptionist greeted her with warmth and Grey was grateful for that. She, the receptionist, was genuinely surprised when an English accent escaped her mouth. Her request was unusual, but she was a doctor and so was obviously there for an important reason.

The headmaster, or principal if you prefer, was an old man who looked as though he'd be gone any minute. But he was one of the nicest gentlemen she'd met and had a doctorate of his own. It was of history but Grey knew a lot more about history than most, especially from the past few days learning lore with Sam.

They soon came onto the topic of the killings and the old man was very upset by these, as he'd taught the two when they were younger.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Grey said, but really she was glad. She kicked her brain into gear and was ready to memorise anything he said from this moment on.

"They were both real bright and didn't reach their potential. They hung out in the same group. So much trouble, they were. We've all got the stories." He laughed.

"I'd love to hear some." Grey said softly.

"Yeah... Well, my personal favourite was the time when they pulled down the curtains in the hall. They were swinging on them and they just fell." He stopped himself and Grey knew he was hiding something. "Good days. Times when I could actually do something."

"Your intellect is enough for all these students." Grey complimented. She looked at her watch and knew that the first lessons were nearly over. She didn't want to get caught in the wave of pupils.

"Why, thank you." He replied. Grey was certain that he had nothing to do with the killings as he was genuinely upset. There's a difference when lying about emotions and he didn't have the heart. Literally. How could a frail old man kill two people by their slitting their throats?

That got Grey wondering about the other parts of the MO. It didn't add up. A spirit would find it very hard to slit someone's throat, but a vengeful one... well, that's a different story. There was something in her gut that told Grey this wasn't a spirit. It was something else. But she couldn't put her finger on it.

She was out just as the classes ended. There was a hustle of students and suddenly a group huddled together. Grey heard a hit and ran over to the group. She looked a lot like one of the students and the two pupils that were there thought she was too.

"Stop what you're doing immediately." Called Grey from afar. Her voice was strong and many of the children in the group turned to her. She realised that she was wearing some of the most un-authoritative clothing there. Jeans, thick boots, and a loose leather jacket was not what you'd call controlling.

"Are you a new student?"

"I'm a Doctor from Oxford, looking at the murders of the two ex-students here. But the fact of the matter is, you're hurting someone and I will not stand for it." The P.E. teacher walked out of the gym.

"Who're you?"

"My name is Doctor Greethar. I recommend keeping an eye on that one." She said. Her phone rang and she picked it up. "Sam?.. Yes, I'm fine... Just finished talking to the head master... I have some more information... Gotcha." She hung up and walked out quickly, glancing back at the kid. Maybe after all this, Sam could go by and scare the crap out of him. A smile was on her lips at the thought.

Back in the motel, things weren't going as smoothly between the two hunters. The silence was unbearable and the absence of Grey was felt by them both. Garth had talked to her twice, both times her being a little miffed at him or something else - he still wasn't sure - but he'd taken a liking to her. When Garth called her a 'pretty lady' Sam got a little worked up. He had no idea why, but both were blind to what Sam was feeling.

The sound of foot steps eased them both. They needed a distraction. Sam had his eyes glued to the computer for the past how-ever-long-Grey-was-gone and Garth had helped himself to their food supply.

"I hope you haven't ripped each other to shreds." Grey said as soon as she walked through the door. Sam nearly expected to see Dean where she was standing, but shook his head at the thought. He was being sentimental again and he tried to stop himself.

"Yeah, I wonder who'd come out on top." Garth said. Grey laughed a little at his mild joke and he was pleased that her barrier of annoyance was breaking down, even just a little bit.

"Sam, could I use the computer?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm running around in circles anyway."

"Translating's so hard" Garth said. Grey walked over to the computer and sat herself down. Her head tilted to the right slightly and Sam knew she was concentrating.

"I'm not just a pretty face." Grey replied. "Nope, no... promising, I'll save it." Grey replied to the texts Sam had put up and looked over. Even over the past few days of knowing Grey, Sam had seen her translating abilities speed up. "Hey, Sam, I was wondering. Why'd you give me the window bed, it would've been easier to stick me on the other one." She referenced to the previous night.

"You said you liked natural light when you read. So, you know, bed next to the window was a good idea."

"Awesome." She said. "Right, that looks good. I'll check those later, but right now, I need to look at some old newspapers. To the library!" She said, picking up her bag again. The two men were a little shocked at her sudden proposal. "Come on, I'm not going on my own." Garth was the first out the door. He went straight to his car and waited a little, as though he expected the others to join him. They walked straight past him though and into the Impala. It was the only way they were both willing to travel.

The Impala was out first and driving away quickly. The two didn't talk much but Grey was tempted to put in a tape just so they could listen to the songs, but the journey was too short to really bother.

Libraries are the closest thing to a guide for hunters. Sam would tell Grey how they're like an endless resource to the town's past and everything that's ever happened. The first person the trio went to was the librarian - not Dean's type - and even with all of his charm, Garth was a bit useless compared to Sam. He just gave those puppy dog eyes Grey had seen when they first met and the librarian was willing to give all the information that they needed.

The newspapers confirmed Grey's suspicions. There had been a bad accident and this had lead to a horrid injury, but it didn't kill. The curtain fiasco was the cause. This girl, called Jessie Oliver, had been swinging on the curtains against her own judgment. She had essentially been forced up there and she fell awkwardly and became crippled. It was a sad tale, but then Grey was certain that this Jessie had turned to witchcraft to act out her revenge on those against her.

Grey told the others and Sam agreed. Garth was still confident it was a ghost, but had no information otherwise. Either way, the three decided that Sam and Grey should go to talk with Jessie in her home.

They knocked the door and waited for an answer. Instead the door swung open and the two hunter's faces sank. Sam was the first to step in and Grey followed him shortly. His hand was hovering over his back pocket and Grey then realised it was a stupid idea not to have brought a gun with her.

"Hello?" Grey called. Sam turned sharply and scanned the first room and then carried on through the bottom floor. They both went upstairs and inside they found another door wide open. Grey's heart sank as she saw a pool of blood. She didn't walk any further, but Sam carried on and pointed the gun around.

"We need to get out of here." Sam said. "Someone might've seen us walk in."

"Not just yet." Grey said. "Do you smell smoke?" Her nose was a little scrunched up. Sam knew she was thinking again. Another room not far down the hall was easy to open and Grey smiled. "I knew something was up."

"What is it?"

"Jessie was a witch." Grey replied. Sam went into the room and saw a black candle sitting in a bowl filled with sand. The flame was still going. "A struggle must've taken place here." Grey said. The room looked as though it had been turned upside down.

"Maybe someone worked out she was killing everyone. How'd she do it?"

"I think..." Grey put on a leather glove and slipped out a piece of paper from underneath the bowl holding the candle. "This is how she did it. She must've had a hex bag somewhere else, but this might be where she performed the ritual. The black candle represented revenge and she used a scented oil. I'm pretty sure you burn the paper after you feel as though you've meditated enough and with enough luck, your wish becomes true."

"Looks like she was killed before she finished. Her throat wasn't slit in the same way as the others. I think this one's genuinely a murder."

"Right then. The culprit is dead. I'll call the police, you can go out back. Don't want them questioning you any time soon." Grey laughed. She was still a little shaken about what she'd seen, even if it was just the blood and Sam was much calmer even though he'd just seen the body thrown out over the bed, blood spewed everywhere. "You've gotta get Dean's car away from here."

"Yeah. I'll call you and tell you where I am."

"Sure. I'll be half an hour." Grey said. She heard Sam's heavy footsteps and the door closing with a slam. The car drove away and only then did Grey call the police. "Hello? I need the police. I'm at 46 Grove's Street, someone's been hurt. I haven't looked inside, but there's a lot of blood and... and because of the recent murders, I thought... Thank you. My name's Doctor Grey Greethar. I'll wait outside... I haven't touched anything, no." Grey said. She carried on speaking to the woman on the other end as she wiped down every surface she and Sam had touched, even if it was a light brushing. They'd pick up Sam's prints and... Well, Grey didn't want to think about it.

The police came in minutes. Grey was hugging herself and was genuinely scared of what had happened. She was moved to the side as officers entered the house and taped off the area.

"Ma'am, I'm Detective Keiso. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Asked a tall, dark skinned man. He was holding a note pad.

"Of course." Grey nodded. She was still trying to be in pretend-shock.

"What was your relationship with the victim?"

"I've never met her in my life. I came here because of the recent murders and thought that maybe she could tell me something, because she was in a group with the other two. I know I should have gone to the police and this might not have happened but... I'm a little nosey you see."

"Well, how did you get in?" Asked the officer. Grey was a little confused by his lack of questions about the victim, but answered the question either way.

"The door was unlocked. It just swung open when I knocked it." And Grey smelt it. There was a pungent smell of sulphur. Instinct told her to get away quickly, but she knew it was pointless now. "Christo." She whispered. The detective's eyes went black and he winced. "Damn it."

"You could've just asked." Smirked the demon. The detective's face had changed completely. He was smirking and his eyes only then turned brown.

"Beatrice?"

"She's a little... busy."

"What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing. Just want some information about the big guy."

"Never, creep." She growled. "We're leaving, the case wrapped up itself. We've no reason to be here anymore."

"Look, smart ass. I don't care about Sam, I don't care about you. I do care about not being tortured by Crowley."

"Yeah, well Crowley can mind his own world. He should be running Hell, not chasing after us."

"You and Sam and going to get Dean and Castiel out of Purgatory. Everyone knows you will, or something else will. That's a fact. How, well... that's the question everyone's asking nowadays."

"We have no idea. I've been traveling with him for three days, it's practically impossible for me to have found something out yet." Grey said. She had no idea why she was being so honest. Maybe it was because she wasn't scared of them anymore.

"Then why are you in love with him?" The demon asked. Grey's face went pale.

"You... I'll kill you, you know that."

"Oh, touchy! And they told me you keep a cool head."

"Demon's can't read minds, at least not crap ones like yourself. Tell me how you know." The demon merely smiled.

"Thanks for your time Ms Greethar. Please stay in town for further questioning." The detective walked off and Grey called Sam seconds after.

"Sam?... We need to get out of this town, there're demons... Yes, I'm fine. But they know everything about Dean and Cas... I'll see you there." She clicked off her phone and put it back in her bag. There was a gun there, but she merely held its handle. "I swear to God, you little shit," she mumbled, "if you even think that you're going to get away with it, think again."

A little spark came from her hand. She was a little taken aback from the small jolt of electricity, but passed it off as static.

While she was walking back to the Impala, where Sam was waiting, Grey drank some bottled water. This isn't normally a very strange event, but the electrical sparks Grey made earlier came back and this time moved the water.

Obviously, Grey thought this was impossible. Her hand sparked some more and the water jolted out of the water bottle. She let out a small gasp and the water dropped to the floor.

Sam was waiting for Grey and was getting a little worried until he saw her running up to him, panicked.

"What is it?"

"I... I'll tell you at the motel." Was all she could reply with. Her heart was thudding in her chest. She was breathing heavily and Sam was worried for her. Worried about what was wrong. Worried about why the music he played in the car didn't make her happier. Worried that she might leave him and never come back.


	6. Ghost Talk

DISCLAIMER: The lyrics used in this chapter are from the song _'Ghosts'_ by Laura Marling. I do not own it, but it's my favourite non-old-rock song at this moment in time. It's glorious and I want it embedded into my brain. Back to your semi-regularly scheduled program of Sam and Grey.

* * *

They arrived at the motel some time at the middle of the day. Garth's car was still in the parking lot, sitting silently. Sam drove on past the motel; he knew this was something that Garth wasn't meant to know. The car stopped outside a park and Sam got out. Opening Grey's door, she climbed out and walked with him down the path. Grey didn't say anything until they found a bench, one that looked an awful lot like the one they had met on. Sam sat down, Grey following suit, waiting.

"Sam," she began. He turned to her, his dark eyes friendly and inviting, "I think... Am I a prophet?"

"I think you are. It'd explain your dreams and headaches." Sam confirmed for her. The cogs in her brain began to run quickly and within seconds, a conclusion came to her. But she didn't like it.

"I..." Grey could not explain with words. Her only thoughts were of fright. "Don't... I'm sorry if this means that you don't like me anymore, because I wouldn't." Grey flexed her right hand and some sparks flew between her fingers. Sam was taken aback.

"When did you-"

"Just. Literally. This demon annoyed me and then I went to have a drink. The water... it..." She laughed. "I made the water float out of the bottle."

Sam simply stared at her. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. Was it confusion, deceit or even delight? Grey saw his muddled emotions and swallowed, burying her head in her hands.

"Why're you upset?" Asked Sam. She felt his arm pull her close to him.

"I thought you'd tell me to go away." Grey whispered.

"I'd never do that. I understand what it's like to have abilities that you can't control." He felt a small drop on his top and he realised that Grey was crying. "Hey, why're you crying?" He asked whilst lifting her head. There was a tight smile on her face and her eyes were a little red.

"Oh, Sam... for someone who's been through so much, you don't get a thing." She said with a shaky laugh. She swallowed and buried her head into Sam's chest. He did understand, he just didn't want Grey to cry. To him, she was a strong force, one that would never give in. He felt that the only reason he's carried on, has tried more was because of her. He's advanced more in these past few days than he had done over the course of several months and Sam felt as though she was the driving force.

It took him a while of sitting next to her with her body resting on his own when he realised and his stomach did a little twirl. He liked her and he damned himself for it. Why, of all the things to do, did he have to have a crush on her? And he wasn't even sure he just had a crush on her. She might mean more to him than he was willing to say to himself.

Sam looked at her. She was tired and she wanted to help Sam and he had fed on it and he just... It was stupid. Love at first sight doesn't exist.

He thought about the first time they met. He laughed to himself when he realised it had only been a few days ago and that they'd worked out so much in those past few days. They hadn't gotten much sleep and with them, they finished a case.

Remembering that day was easy. He was wearing one of Dean's jackets, like he had done since he was gone. Sam was running through all these different ideas in his head and it made it hurt. He didn't really know how long he'd been there but then he heard some soft foot steps walk over to him.

When he first saw Grey, Sam was acutely aware about how caring she was. Only a person that kind would be willing to try and convince a stranger to talk to her. He didn't really known why he blurted out the truth. Maybe it was because he trusted so easily and in this case, it had turned out to be a good thing. He guessed it felt good to trust someone again.

Sam felt Grey shift underneath him and she looked up expectantly.

"Did I go to sleep?"

"Not for long." He said honestly. He knew when she was asleep and when she wasn't. It hadn't been the first time she had fallen to sleep whilst they hugged. "I think you should practise that electricity thing. Never know, could come in handy."

"I guess. I'm just worried I'll go all dark side."

"You could never be dark." Sam said automatically. "You wanna get a pizza?"

"Why not." Grey replied cheerfully. They stood up and walked along the pathway. "Is this even where the pizza place is?"

"I have no idea. I don't wanna risk driving right now."

"Yeah, of course." she said. They seemed to do a large loop and had found a small burger stand. They did mini pizzas and they had one each. The pizza fit perfectly in Sam's hand and they both laughed about how he truly was a giant and that every one would cower before their might. Grey joked that he ought to be in a Frankenstein Monster costume when Halloween came around.

Grey picked up her iPod and put on the radio. She handed Sam one of the ear pieces and he had to stand closed to her in order to listen to the station they were on. A few songs in Grey laughed a little bit in recognition. It was her favourite song, she said, because it lifted her spirits. Sam payed great attention to the as they were sung out in a sweet voice.

**'**_**He walked down a busy street,**_

_** Staring solely at his feet,' **_The artist sang as Sam lifted his head, realising he'd been doing just that.

**'**_**Clutching pictures of past lovers at his side.**_

_** Stood at the table where she sat, **_

_** And removed his hat,**_

_** In respect of her presence.' **_It was then that Sam heard Grey singing softly under her breath.

"You've got a good singing voice there." He said trying to distract himself from the lyrics.

"Thanks. It's the first time you've heard me actually sing. The other time, we were screaming the words to Metallica songs." She said.

After some songs were finished, as well as their pizzas, they both decided to go back to the motel and wait out the day.

At night time, Sam finally said it would be a good idea to leave town. The case was solved and he didn't like being in the same place as demons for much longer. They sat in the Impala, the back holding their belongings, and Sam turned on the radio just in case they heard something that they needed to react to.

They weren't unlucky and Sam drove on. Grey didn't sleep until about one in the morning and that was when they were staying in another motel. As soon as her head landed on the pillow, she just slept.

Sam got a text from Garth earlier saying that he didn't want to hang around much longer and so he'd left before Grey and Sam had. He also said that he thought he - Garth - and grey would be a perfect couple which made Sam laugh.

"Dude." Grey said. It seemed to be the only thing she said when she was tired. "Don't laugh so loud." She mumbled, half her mouth blocked by the fluffy pillow underneath her. He grinned again, his eyes twinkling a little.

"Sorry." He whispered. As soon as Grey started softly snoring again, Sam saw Grey's iPod lying on the bed side table. He picked it up and listened to the song which Grey had identified as _'Ghosts'_. Sam listened attentively.

_**'Presents her with the pictures and says,**_

_** These are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you.**_

_** These are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you.' **_

"Tell me about Jess." Grey croaked. **'**_**Opened up his little heart, unlocked the lock that kept it dark'**_**. **Turning his head and putting down the volume, Sam landed his eyes on the exhausted woman next to him.

"Why?" _**'Read a written warning,**__**saying I'm still mourning'**_

"Because, it's nice to talk about people you've loved and lost. It's like they were never gone." She gave him a soft smile. _**'Over ghosts...' **_"My mother died a few weeks before I came back to America."_**'That broke my heart before I met you.' **_"It was a few years ago," _**'Lover please, do not,'**_ "around about the same time the dreams started," _**'Fall to your knees, it's not' **_"so I thought they were just grief related." _**'Like I believe in,'**_ "I have to talk about her." _**'Ever lasting love.' **_"It's the only thing keeping me sane."

"I'm sorry." Sam said. "Tell me about her." He stopped the music then, hating how it was reading them both like a book.

"Well, she was forty years old and was in a crash. She used to ride a bike to the school, where she worked, everyday. It was a primary school, she taught the year sixes, I'm pretty sure that's grade five or six, and one day, there was a driver who didn't look up. She died at the scene and, uh, the school held a little memorial there.

"So, whenever it's that time of year again, I remember her very well. Whenever I go to a school, I get this sense that I have to protect these kids because that's what she did best. She made these kid's lives better in a way that only they know.

"Today there was a kid who I saw bully another. He literally beat him down and I stopped him. I practically told one of the teachers off. I just got angry at him for that one reason. He was a little bigger than me, but I was sure that if I rang you, you'd come and help me out so I wasn't scared. And what was the point of being scared of a kid who was never going to get anywhere in life?

"But, I thought I did a good thing, that I did what my mom would've wanted." Grey stopped talking and pulled out a necklace that Sam had seen on occasion. It was a silver pendent in the shape of a bicycle. "Now that I know heaven's real, I feel comforted." She wiped a little tear from her cheek. "I hope she got my prayers." Grey said. Her voice was barely a whisper. She breathed out and steadied her voice. "So then. Tell me about Jessica."

Sam swallowed a little and thought before answering. "I didn't really know Jess that long, about four years. I saw her in the library and just remember thinking 'She's the one for me'. I spoke to her a little and we became friends. I liked her straight away and according to her friends, she was just as crazy about me. I asked her out a few weeks later and in all honesty, it felt just the same as before. We already spoke and were with each other all the time, it just became a little more solid.

"After a few months, she moved in with me. It was a gradual progression and just sort of happened. We only realised we'd been living in the same place a week after." He said with a small snicker. "That was a running joke for a while. I carried on with my studies and she with hers. We only went to a few parties, they weren't really our thing. We went out to dinner a few times. It was pretty normal, which was exactly want I wanted.

"I liked it when I came back to our apartment from the library stupidly late and she'd have made a batch of cookies with a note saying 'I love you!' on top of them. The first time that happened was seven months after we moved in. I saw the plate and I don't know. It felt nice, and they were great cookies." Sam said. He looked up at Grey and saw her sweet smile. "I thought I was gonna marry her." His voice low. "I loved her, I really did. And when I came back and saw those cookies left on the table for me, it felt so right.

"You know what happened to her. I saw it. I dreamt it before and after for months. It happened to my mom and I let it happen to Jess." He spoke quickly and forcefully. He stood and walked to the opposing wall. Grey stood and she tapped his shoulder which he then turned to. His eyes were full of glistening tears and she just stood on her toes and hugged his neck tightly. No words escaped their mouths as they stood hung there.

When Grey was asleep again, Sam sat and continued listening to the music. The lyrics rung out in his ears.

_**'He went crazy at nineteen,**_

_** Said he lost all his self esteem,**_

_** Couldn't understand why he was cry, cry, crying, crying.**_

_** He would stare at empty chairs,**_

_** Think of the ghost that once sat there,**_

_** The ghost that broke his heart-' **_He stopped it again. How could this singer get him so right? It pained him to accept it. He was this person in her song. Holding back his shaking breath, Sam played the song again.

_**'Oh the ghost that broke my heart,**_

_** The ghost that broke his heart,**_

_** Oh the ghost that broke my heart,**_

_** The ghost, the ghost, the ghost, the ghost, the ghost, the ghost,**_

_** The ghost that broke my heart before I met you.**_

_** 'Lover please, do not, fall to you knees, it's not,**_

_** Like I believe in ever lasting love.' **_Grey sat up from her slumber and saw Sam's shaking form.

_**'He says I'm so lost, not at all well...' **_Sam closed his eyes again.

_**'It was done, after there was nothing left to be,**_

_** It turned I'd been following him and**_

_** He'd been following me.**_

_** After it was done and after it was over,**_

_** We were just two lovers crying on each other's shoulders and I say, **_

_** 'Lover please, do not, fall to you knees, it's not,**_

_** Like I believe in ever lasting love. **_

_** Lover please, do not, fall to you knees, it's not,**_

_** Like I believe in ever lasting love.'**_

The songs abrupt ending came as a surprise to Sam as he could finally hear all that was around him. Footsteps walked towards him and he felt a weight next to him.

"You know, that's not the best song to listen to when you're upset." She said glumly. Where had his- the happy Grey gone? Her mouth wasn't curved into her smile. "Believe me. I've tried." Her voice chocked. "Damn, I miss my mom." She said whilst tears began to fall across her cheeks. Sam automatically wiped them away with his thumbss.

"I miss Jess too. Talking... it helped." He said whilst pulling Grey closer to him. She put her head against his strong arm.

"You're still stupid." She said, sniffing with a tiny laugh.

"And you're still a genius." Sam replied. A poke from Grey made him laugh even more. He felt some tears on his arm and he hugged her closer to him. He felt like a father looking after his child, wanting her not to cry. They were completely head over heels for each other and now both of them knew it.

So at that moment, they really were just two lovers crying on each other's shoulders.

* * *

"CAS!" Screamed Dean. He'd become used to this. Constantly calling for the only being in this damned place that even cared for their survival. Where Castiel went, Dean would never know, but he soon walked on in the direction to where Cas might have gone in. It wasn't even a guess. The Trickster, which Castiel decided to name Loki, made him a coin which decided for him.

It wasn't a let down. This wasn't where Dean had thought he'd find the angel, but he was just glad he could see him.

"Cas." Dean started. The angel turned his head. "Why the fuck are you hanging upside down on a tree." His voice was a growl, but it soon became laughter. Never in his _life_ would Dean have imagined he'd see this. He'd seen a lot; a killer clown, an old couple nearly eatin them at Christmas. Dean would never forget the fudge fiasco. _I should have said 'why the fudge' really. _He thought to himself.

Castiel took his time to answer, but then said, "I'm listening." Dean stared at him, mouth hanging a little open. Dean listened to the awful silence of that forest, glanced either side of him before looking back up at the angel. He wasn't laughing anymore; that was replaced with a miserable frown.

"And why, might I ask, are you listening to the crap that's _trying to eat us._" He said the last few words slowly, as though Castiel was hard of hearing.

"I'm not trying to listen to them. Sam prayed to me, I'm merely trying to locate a source from which I can communicate back."

"'Cause that's worked great for us so far." Dean replied. His arms landed by his side and he sat himself on the floor. There was no way to describe how pissed off he was. He was bubbling over. Even Loki stayed away from him. "What would we say anyway? 'Hey Sam, I know we're in Purgatory, but we're all daisies and rainbows over here.' Or, would we tell the truth. 'Sam, we're being hunted down by everything ever. Even things we had no idea existed. And a Trickster likes us. At least we got burgers!'" Dean flashed a fake smile up at the angel, then his face returned to it's gloomy self. He didn't even know what he was saying and doubted the angel understood a word of his frustration.

"Dean, I understand you're upset, but there is no need to be sarcastic." Replied Castiel, apparently getting every word. "I just need to able to help him if he needs any."

"Yeah, why not. You know this place better than anyone, all of these guys were shoved up your ass." Dean grumped, rubbing his face in his hands. His facial hair was thick and he hated it. Loki seemed to read his mind, and gave him a razor. It cheered him up a little. "Thanks, Lo."

The blades were rough against his skin and it hurt each time. He didn't cut himself of course, but it was irritating. At least he didn't feel like an over grown hedge anymore.

A spark crashed into his back.

"Fuck!" Dean screamed. That had really hurt. When he looked, there was a hole in his jacket and his skin had been burned off, revealing fresh red skin. It was bleeding and he had to take off his shirt in order to care for it. "What the Hell was that?" He begged, but when he looked up at Castiel for answers, he angel wasn't there.

It wasn't a surprise when Dean turned around and the angel was barely an inch away from him. Dean nearly swore again, but stopped himself.

Wait. Was Castiel _smiling_?

"Cas, are you alright?"

"What hit you?" He said bluntly, but Dean could have sworn he was happy.

"Uh, I think it was lightning, but-"

"Was it hot."

"I guess. Why, do you know what it is?"

"I think that's a prophet. In rare circumstances, some prophets are given incredible abilities. This only happens when archangels aren't there to help them. I believe that this prophet has the ability to connect Purgatory to Earth." Castiel spoke quickly. It was weird for the angel to be experiencing this kind of emotion.

"How do you know it was a prophet?" Dean asked quietly. Cas merely pointed at Dean's arm, at the place where the lightning struck him.

It read clearly _'Grey Greethar'_.

"Grey Greethar is a prophet; all of their names are burned into my mind."

"You have a plan don't you." Dean said, reading Castiel's face.

"I do." And suddenly the angel was gone again.

Dean stood, his arms hanging loosely around him. Castiel's plans hadn't really gone all to plan lately but a plan was a plan.

He heard a whisper behind him and so Dean turned. In front of him was a ghostly form of a young woman. She was standing wearing bed clothes and was watching Dean attentively.

"Hello?" Dean asked. Her eyes grew wide and she looked around.

"You can see me?" She said in reply. Her voice sounded distant and echoed around him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I."

"I'm dreaming. The only time you talk to me is when I'm not dreaming about you guys hunting or when you're in Purgatory."

"You know who I am?"

"Yeah, you're Dean Winchester." She said, as if it was obvious.

"You that prophet that zapped my arm?" Dean grumbled. Grey looked apologetically at him.

"I'm sorry I harmed you. I'm not going to hurt you, at least not deliberately. I travel with Sam, we're trying to get you out of this place." Grey said. Dean trusted her. He'd learnt a long time ago on how to spot something bad and she wasn't it. In fact, he'd never met a more gleaming soul. Literally.

"Right." He nodded. "Then, how can I see you?"

"I don't... maybe..." Grey said distantly. she walked around a little before snapping her fingers and teleporting directly in front of Dean. "I think it's because of these crazy ass powers I've got."

"You mean the electric thing." He asked and she nodded.

"I think that I've got these abilities because somehow, I can get you out. Maybe, I can teleport you out or something." She tried to touch Dean's arm but a jolt of static passed between them.

"Or not." Dean said, rubbing his arm. "How's Sam?"

"He's doing alright. He won't admit it, but he misses you."

"When'd you meet him?"

"Like, four days ago? Less?" She said, surprising even herself. Dean gave her a little smirk.

"You like him, don't you." He said with unwavering confidence. Grey's whole demeanour changed and she sat herself down.

"That obvious, huh?" She rubbed the back of her head and dropped her head onto her knees. "It's a little tough to explain. Anyways, that's not what's important right now. We need to talk about your awesome cassette collection and how gorgeous your car is." She said with a smile. Dean just laughed.

"You like my music and my car? I don't know why he hasn't married you yet." And they both started laughing. It was nice to talk to a person again, even if it had only been a month for Dean. They were so much alike and they grew to like each other, but not in the way many would suspect. Grey and Dean were like two peas in a pod and they would become the closest friends ever seen by any human.


	7. An Awful lot of Demons

**I'm sorry for how late this is, I've been really busy so only started this a few days ago. Enjoy!**

* * *

It felt like the oddest thing, waking up from that dream. Grey felt as though she had just fallen asleep and yet felt refreshed from a great rest and that just made her head ache. Sam was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His expression was completely unreadable. His left leg was raised into a triangle, his foot by his right knee. Supporting his head were his hands, though they weren't needed. He did have a pillow after all.

The movement Grey made must have been enough for him to break out of his trance. He looked over at her and a swift smile formed across his face.

"G'mornin'" Grey said groggily, opening her eyes properly and nearly being blinded by the tiny amount of sunlight that was passing through her window. "How lon' was I ou'?" She asked. Sam laughed at how completely useless her tongue was but then imagined what that tongue could also do so stopped laughing, became very serious and swallowed.

"It's about nine in the morning, so eight hours?" He said, walking to the small sink. This motel was a lot better than the other two they had stayed in and it even had a kettle. Grey got a little giddy at the thought of having nice tea.

Earlier in the day, Sam bought some essentials and treats from a local store. Namely, tea bags and chocolate. Smelling the warm drink made Grey smile almost drunkenly. Sam handed her a mug filled with the stuff.

"A bit of milk with one sugar." He said, a little look of self doubt on his face.

"Perfect." She took a sip and smiled, her voice returning to it's normal pronunciation and her eyes now used to the lighting around them. "So, what're we going to do today?"

"I was just going to research." Sam said. Grey nodded in agreement, understanding what Sam needed and what she needed to tell him.

"Sam, I had a dream last night." She said. He became a little confused.

"But you didn't shiver." He sounded apologetic, thinking he must've missed something.

"It wasn't bad... I don't even know. But I talked to Dean." Sam put down his mug and leaned forward. His face wasn't far away from her own now and they both felt a sudden urge to move closer. Neither did. "I was in Purgatory but he could see me and I talked to him. Castiel knows I was there and he kind of explained my electrical thing. He said that because I still need protecting, but none of the archangels are around, I was given more power than just being able to see visions. I can protect myself with this... energy thing." She gulped down some more of her tea. "Then he said he had a plan, he vanished and then Dean talked to me. I could tell you're related. It has to be genetic, this friendliness you both have." Her smile curved up. Sam couldn't help himself. He lunged towards her wrapping his big arms around her ribs.

"Oh, I love you, you know that?" Sam stated. He knew, he _knew_, without a doubt in his mind that Grey was a good person to know. Right now, he just didn't want to let her go.

"Right. Yes. Not breathing." She said. He gave out a thunderous laugh and sat next to her whilst she put her mug on the bed side table. How she managed to keep it steady and not spill anything must've been because of her static as she was certain the cup went sideways. "You know what? Your not too bad yourself."

If Dean was there, he'd basically be laughing at how ridiculous they both were. Then he'd probably leave the room saying he wouldn't want to bother the love birds. THey'd both blush, give into their feelings and go to sleep naked under bed sheets. But Dean wasn't there so there was no one to tell them they liked each other. It was blindingly obvious.

"You wanna go out and get some lunch?" Sam said. "I mean, not now, that would be stupid." He laughed awkwardly before Grey gave him a nod.

"But first, we must research!" She said enthusiastically. They spent about four hours looking into Purgatory and based on what Castiel had told them, Purgatory was almost sideways in relation to Earth. They were like two rooms and they both hoped that there was a door somewhere there. The thing about doors is that they don't move, you have to find them. And what's the use of finding a door when you haven't the key?

So that was their finally thought when they left to go into town and find a cafe.

"Right, so we have to find this door and then open it." Sam said as they entered a nice looking coffee shop and the only one that sold tea.

"Basically. I think that's what Castiel did, but more broke a hole which became like a plug in a bath. We need to find the door and open it. I think that's the only way we can get into Purgatory safely." They sat at a small table - which was really funny for Grey as Sam looked particularly huge - and they were greeted and served by a woman who looked oddly familiar. It took Grey a second to place it, but by then it was useless.

Her back was turned and Grey whispered to Sam as quietly as she could. "She's a demon." Sam cursed under his breath before bringing out a flask of water and a golden chain with a cross on it. He began speaking Latin very quickly and quietly. The cross was dropped into the flask and he gave Grey a weak smile. _If worse comes to worse_ Grey thought.

They were given their order by the smiling waitress. They said their thanks, but goodness were they suspicious. They were only two of five who were occupying the room. Two worked there and there was a single man with a newspaper at the far corner. All things considered, Grey shocked herself about how obvious it was that this was a trap for them.

The waitress sat at their table and brought out a phone.

"So, you followed us all the way from my home?" Grey said. The demon was genuinely surprised.

"I heard you had a good memory, but that's impressive." She gave the phone to Sam who picked it up.

"Hello?" A crackling voice came from the other end. He sighed and put it on loud speaker. "What?"

"This phone is shit." Growled the man on the other line. Sam was close to laughter.

"Crowley? You're kiddin' me."

"I'm busy right now, but I'd love to meet up later. Mano et mano."

"Why?"

"We've got a situation to discuss. My friend will give you a location. I'll see you at three." The phone hung up and Sam stared at the piece of paper in front of him.

"I think we're going now." He said, standing as Grey did. But the demon in front of him changed their eyes to black and glared at Grey.

"Hold up. He may want Sam, but you're expendable."

"You touch her..." Sam threatened. He put a hand on Grey's waist and pushed her behind him. She just scowled at the demons and walked away, holding Sam's wrist as she did so.

The drive back to the motel was completed in silence. They went inside and sat on opposite sides of the small table.

"I'm going."

"No, you're not." She laughed in response.

"Yes, I am." He forced on her. Grey's eyes stared angrily at him and he just stood and packed some weapons in his belt.

"You can't just-"

"Yes I can, Grey. Don't try to stop me."

"What does he want?" She said, standing in front of the door.

"He said there's a situation to discuss." He moved towards her. "I'm going. Now."

"No, you're not!" Sam's face redened a little.

"You know, you're just like Dean. Never let me do anything. Never thought I could. Just move out of the way!" He shouted. Grey glared at him and was close to slapping his face until he picked her up, cuffed her to the bed railing and walked out the door.

"Sam!" Screamed Grey. The handcuffs were on tightly and though she struggled, she just couldn't break free. Even the electricity she made wasn't hot enough to melt the bonds. "Sam, let me out _now_!" She shouted but it was useless. The Impala was already driving away and the trust she had for Sam went with it. "I swear, I'm gonna _kill _him."

Grey was furious. This was by far the stupidest thing Sam had done and that was saying something. She writhed in the cuffs and she just collapsed onto the floor. She breathed in deeply trying to suppress the feeling Sam wouldn't come back and eyed the tea she'd had earlier. With her free hand, she used the static to heat up the tea and she drank it quickly. Everything was better with tea.

That was when she came up with the idea to try and talk to Dean again. She rested her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. Grey needed to vent about Sam's idiocy and the best person to do that to was his brother. Worry was keeping her from sleep and she curled up into a ball, a few tears falling across her cheeks. Why was it that when she wanted to talk to someone, nobody was there?

She tried to release her bonds again. It failed, just like the first time, but she still spent an hour searching around trying to get free.

Sam had arrived at the warehouse in forty minutes and he wanted to go back with each second that passed. The doors were open but weren't by any means inviting. He could smell the sulphur and had a flask of holy water in one hand and a shotgun with rock-salt bullets in the other.

"Sammy!" Shouted Crowley, arms open.

"Don't call me Sammy." He replied with. That wound was still healing.

"Aw, don't be upset!" The demon laughed. "There's no use crying over spilt milk."

"What do you want." Sam said. He was tired of Crowley and his games. All he really wanted to do was hit him square in the jaw.

"I wanna know who this Grey character is." Sam physically tensed up and his grip around the shotgun tightened.

"I don't know a Grey."

"Yes you do, so don't bother lying." Sam was suddenly jerked to the floor and he dropped his only weapons. He grunted in pain. "Who is she? Why's she so important?"

"I'll never... tell you anything." Sam was flung to the side of the warehouse and he hit the floor with a great force. He coughed making dust float into his lungs. He felt two pairs of hands grab onto him and he was then thrown back to Crowley.

"Seeing as you're being so reluctant, you won't mind my boys taking care of you. I'll make sure you get back to your girlfriend in one piece." Before Sam could protest, the demons kicked him hard in the stomach. Crowley left, laughing like a made man.

The demons beat him for some minutes until Sam finally jumped up and covered them both in holy water. He brought out the knife and swung it at them. They stayed further away, but then one lunged and the knife was embedded into it's body. A flutter of orange sparks were emitted from the demon before Sam threw the dead weight side. The other demon made a run for it, but Sam was just quick enough to stab him in the back.

Sam was breathing heavily and looked over his body. He had several cuts and he felt as though his left arm was dislocated, but he'd had worse. Driving the Impala was extremely awkward for Sam as only one arm was any good, but he made it work somehow.

When he opened the door, it was evident that Grey was the most bored person ever. There were scorch marks all over her sleeves and the cuffs. In front of her was a ball of electricity which vanished as soon as she her eyes landed on Sam's beaten frame.

"You are an _idiot_." She said. Sam grabbed the keys from his pockets and within seconds Grey was up and walking over to a small container which held a needle, thread and bandages. "Why the Hell did you think it was a good idea to go alone? Well?"

"I'm sorry." He said painfully. Grey sighed at him and saw blood leaking through his shirt.

"You're going to have to take that thing off." She said, holding out the needle. Sam tried to move his arms, but they just weren't working. Grey looked like thunder. "And you've got a dislocated shoulder. Brilliant. Just go and get beaten up why don't you." She placed her hands on his shoulder. "On three. One." And she snapped his arm back in place. This brought a grunt of pain from Sam and he lurched forward.

"Thanks."

"Hey, shut up." Grey growled. "You have got to listen to me sometimes. You're gonna get yourself killed again and this time no one will be able to bring you back." Her words were harsh and they rang through Sam's skull like a church bell. He completely understood why she was so angry with him but it still hurt.

He felt the needle pierce his skin and his breathing was harsh with every movement. Grey's hands felt soft on his skin and that small longing within him sparked up. She was only concentrating on Sam. He was her priority.

Blood was seeping out of Sam's torso and Grey was in pain to see him like this. She just tried to patch him up as well as he could. Some minutes after neither spoke, Grey brought over some bandages and began wrapping up Sam's side. She had to move around a lot in order for he bandage to be tight enough and so her face got close to Sam's very often.

She was finished and she washed the blood from her hands. They were shaking a little. Sam walked up behind her and he placed a hand on her shoulder in thanks. Grey dried her hands and sat on the bed. Now she felt tired.

Sam stood in the shower for a few minutes longer than was truly needed. He wanted to water to wash away all of this blood on his skin and the thoughts of Grey being angry with him. It was as though they were out of balance and neither liked it.

"Sam?" Asked Grey, her voice back to normal and utterly forgiving. "I'm sorry I was angry at you."

"It's alright." Sam said, his voice echoing around the bathroom. "I'm sorry I locked you up."

"Don't think you're getting off that easily." She said. _There you are_ Sam thought as he switched off the hot water and wrapped a towel around his body. He wiped back his wet hair from his face and shook his head a little. Grey was lying on her bed listening to her iPod and reading a book. Her foot was swinging to the sounds of her songs. She was completely absorbed.

Sam picked up his underwear and some trousers before going back into the bathroom to put them on. He came out again his chest still bare but this time Grey was putting down the book and iPod to stand up, take a towel and scrub Sam's hair.

"Hey!" He shouted before laughing.

"There were are, doggy." She said, reaching down to a bag under her bed. A brush was in her hand and Sam's eyes grew wide.

"Don't, no, no, no, what're you doing, no." He said as Grey walked forward, passing the brush between her hands. She ran at him, but Sam easily pushed her away. They just burst out laughing and Sam landed on his bed in a fit of joy. Grey sat next to him, scanning his chest.

"Didn't pull any stitches. Must be better than I gave myself credit for."

"You did that just to check the stitches?" Grey gave him a nod and rested herself next to him. She turned to her side and moved some of his hair from his face. Sam looked at her in a way she couldn't read. Their eyes locked onto each other.

Sam never really noticed before, but Grey's eyes were beautiful. They were deep blue, with lines of both dark and light sapphire shooting out from the pupil. There were speckles of green and gold around the edges and he felt himself move closer towards her. Grey loved Sam's kind eyes, their soft brown wonderfully wise and understanding.

Their breath mingled in the air, lips so close they could practically feel them. Grey swallowed. Sam moved his head forward.

His lips were much softer than Grey ever imagined they would be. _Just like candy-floss_ she thought. Their mouths parted and Sam moved himself closer to her, holding her body and pulling her closer to him. Grey found her hands go through his wet hair, loving the sensation of his lips opening. Sam parted her legs and soon they were wrapped around his thighs.

Grey's heart felt like it was becoming melted butter and it fluttered delightfully. Her hands moved down Sam's neck and onto his chest. His heart was strong and its beat was completely comforting to her. She smiled and Sam felt it.

Sam hadn't felt like this for someone in a long time. He hadn't felt he deserved someone, not after all that could happen. The sudden urge to hold Grey turned into fear for her. He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. They looked almost sad.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly. Her hand moved off his chest and onto his shoulder, thumb rubbing his skin trying to comfort him.

"I... I can't, I'm sorry." He moved off the bed and put on a top. Grey sat up, rubbing her arm.

"I'm not going to get hurt Sam." She said, practically reading his mind. "I won't."

"People I'm close to get killed Grey. I-" He was cut off by Grey pressing her lips against his neck. It was nice and he wanted nothing more than to hold her tight but he simply could bring himself to do so. "Grey." He said, pushing her away. The hurt in her eyes was sickening.

"I understand." She said softly a weak smile on her face. "I'm gonna, uh, go for a walk." She pulled on some shoes, grabbed her bag and left the room. Sam cursed to himself and sat on the floor, unable to move. His chest felt so heavy and his head just wasn't in the right place. He wanted nothing more than to run away, but he didn't have the strength.

A shuddering fear passed through him. There were demons close to here and he had no doubt in his mind that they knew where they were. He stood, put on shoes and ran to the car. He called Grey's phone, begging for her to pick it up.

She couldn't of course. It was impossible to reach for the vibrating phone with her hands tied behind her back. Her ankles were just as useless, being held in place at the ends of a chair. It was kind of amusing to her; this was the second time today she was tied up. The demon was walking around her not saying a word.

"You know, you didn't have to tie me up." She said, her shaking voice betraying her. "I'm not exactly a threat or are you just kinky?" The demon just looked at her with his red eyes.

"Grey Greethar, what kind of name is that?"

"Crowley's even worse." Grey said staring up at the demon her eyes never faltering. "Don't look so surprised. Even you're not that stupid." He laughed at her. Was she really insulting _him_?

"You have quite a mouth there."

"If you untie me, you can see how great my fists are."

"You have exactly the same tone as a guy I used to know. He's dead now. At least, I think he is. Being in Purgatory isn't good for anyone."

"You think I'm like Dean? That's been said and done, Crowley. What do you want from me, because it isn't my charm."

"I don't want anything from you. You're my bait. Sammy boy's already tried to call you." He said holding up her phone.

"You know what? I'm sick of demons and I've only met three. You're all just sons of bitches."

"Dean? You in there?" Crowley joked. "We might be here a while. Even Sam can't track you down that quickly." He said.

"What're you suggesting?"

"We could talk about your life."

"How about no." She said. Her mind was distracted, trying to concentrate on his skull her ability splitting it in half. A light over head sparked and Grey smiled. _At least I can zap things without my hands_. Her mind was so completely focused on Crowley that she didn't notice the doors open and Sam walk in with the knife. She heard her name being called out and Crowley laughing manically.

Suddenly clouds began to form above them and a huge quantity of thunder and lightning cashed into existence. Using all her will power, Grey tried to make a single bolt of electricity hit Crowley square in the chest. When her eyes opened, he was on the floor a burn on his torso. The bonds around her wrist were cut loose and Sam picked her up and put her into the Impala.

"Grey, are you alright?" he asked. She just looked at him, an expression telling him to shut up. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, I'm alive." Her voice low and unreadable. "I just wanna go to sleep, I've had enough excitement for one day." Sam felt as though he'd been stabbed. He slammed her door shut, sat in the driver's seat and just drove on. Grey's breathing was a little heavy, but that was expected.

"Grey, I-"

"Sam, I like you, OK? Stop treating me like I'm a child." She shouted. This wasn't Grey. She sounded a lot more like Dean. "Thanks for coming." She said as she slouched into the chair. "Bitch." Sam slammed the breaks on the car.

"Why're you doing that."

"Doing what."

"You sound like Dean."

"Well, I'm sorry!" She yelled sarcastically. "Keep driving, we'll pick up our stuff and we've gotta get out of here." She paused and took a deep breath. "I hate demons!" She shouted. They drove on not talking for a few hours before finally deciding that they needed some sleep.

The next motel they went to was a little beaten down, but it was comfortable none the less. They both just wanted to sleep, yet neither could. Sam sat next to Grey on her bed and he turned to look at her. She was so tired and seemingly defeated. He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. The urge from before came back to him and he just couldn't help it.

"Sam? I'm sorry for shouting at you."

"It's not a problem." Grey kissed the corner of his mouth to apologise

Soon their lips were pressing against each other again. This time, Sam wasn't scared. He'd seen how she could protect herself and she was the only one that could help him find Dean and bring him back. They fell into each other.

When morning came, it was much too soon. Sam was holding onto Grey, protecting her from the col that his back felt.

Surprisingly, Grey woke first and turned around to see the sleeping features of Sam. He looked so calm and at rest, it was the sweetest thing she'd seen. She kissed him lightly as his eyes opened slowly and his mouth became a wonderful smile.

"Morning." She said.

"Mornin'." He grumbled. Grey's nose touched his and she kissed his forehead. "Did you dream anything?"

"Not useful, but definitely one I want to remember." She said poking Sam in the chest. "Oh, wait, it actually happened." She kissed him again and got up from the bed. Sam yawned loudly and Grey sat on his side of the bed. "How did we fit on this thing? I mean, two small people like me, makes perfect sense. But you barely stay on as it is."

"Shut up." Sam grumbled. He put his face onto the pillow and wrapped his arms around it.

"You look so adorable." Grey said kissing the back of his neck, planting more all along his back. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again. "I think," kiss, "that you and I," kiss, "should go out for dinner." Kiss.

"Sounds good. What's the time?" Sam replied, Grey only hearing some mumbles but understanding them anyway.

"Eight twenty three in the morning."

"You did look at a clock, right?" Sam said disbelieving.

"I'm that good." She said. "The microwave has the time on it." Sam nodded and put his head back down. "Hey, we've gotta research." Sam sighed before sitting up and kissing Grey for a long minute.

"Five more minutes..." And his breath became deep again and sleeping. It reminded her of a puppy.

How he could ever see himself unworthy of caring for was completely beyond her.


	8. Angels of the Human kind

Castiel was sitting underneath a tree when Dean found him. He had his legs crossed, back straight and eyes wondering around the area. His eyes looked briefly up at Dean before scanning around the rest of the wood. That brief glimpse told Dean not to disturb him and so the human sat opposite. When the twigs became a little easier to rest against, Dean lay on his back, rested his head on his right arm and looked up at the sky.

It was pitch black everywhere else. Castiel seemed to make his own light - which was weird and not even the angel could really explain. Something to do with his grace - and so in their small two by two area, it was a little easier to see things. Not that that was any use.

Loki came to rest near Dean, making the oddest sounding purr the human had ever heard. It sounded like a dog but mixed in with a cricket's call. Instinctively, Dean reached out and gave him a little pat on the head. The Trickster hissed, but then came to the conclusion he didn't mind the comfort so stayed quiet and let Dean mess with his ear.

"Dean." Castiel said suddenly. Dean lifted his head and rested on his elbow.

"What up?"

"I think there are other angels here." He murmured. Dean became pale and swallowed.

"Shit." He said after some time. As if they didn't need anything else to worry about, now there was the prospect of being tortured by not too fond angels. "Are there any close by?"

"No. I saw a feather hanging on a tree. It was Gabriel's." Dean perked up even more.

"Isn't tha' a good thing? I mean, Gabriel doesn't mind us. Neither does Balthazar."

"Yes, but all the others hate me." Castiel said. Dean was about to say something but it was useless. He moved close to the angel and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"It don't matter Cas. So long as they don't hurt us. Sammy'll get us outta here. Which reminds me, I talked to Grey."

"The prophet?" Castiel asked. His own eyes were burning with anticipation, something Dean had never seen before.

"Yeah. She's really nice and says she's helpin' Sammy."

"I'm glad to hear it." The angel said before slumping back onto the tree. His eyes became distant again. God, those eyes. Dean could stare at them forever. He felt like he couldn't, but it seems more like fate. Sam liked a demon. Dean can just as easily like an angel.

But there was the fact that Castiel couldn't share those emotions. Couldn't respond in the way Dean would want. And that both depressed Dean and made him feel selfish.

"What's wrong?" Asked the angel. Of course he could tell.

"Nothin'." Dean said groggily. "I'm jus' tired." His eyes closed and he could have sworn the angel held him closer.

"Are you cold?"

"Nah. I'm fine." Dean said. It was a small lie. He wasn't cold, but he was far from fine. Castiel knew this but sighed, knowing that it was best not to ask.

"I wish there were bees here." He mumbled. That made Dean chuckled a little.

"Yeah. Me too." He said. They heard a faint buzzing and realised Loki had made them about five bees. Castiel smiled a little and watched on. The constant droning made it impossible for Dean to rest, but he didn't mind. The angel's smile was genuinely angelic. "I just don't wan' 'em to sting me."

"That wouldn't be preferable." Castiel agreed in his usual manor.

"So, this plan of yours. Hit me."

"I was wondering if she could do as I did and break through to Purgatory, but I have a feeling she'll work something better out."

"Smarter than an angel?"

"Certainly." Castiel smiled. He put out a finger and a single bee rested itself on it. He moved his hand carefully. "Hold out a finger." He said. Dean did so, trusting the man greatly, then he felt the small patter of feet on his skin. He was tempted to call it cute, but then it flew away with the others before he could.

Then they heard a deep growl and Dean stumbled to his feet. Castiel wasn't long behind and then, as Loki jumped towards them, a great rhinoceros type creature ran at them. Thankfully at that second, Castiel teleported the three of them to a different location. Dean was breathing heavily from the sudden appearance.

"What the hell was that." He said, too surprised to make it a question.

"A shapeshifter."

"You're joking."

"They can become anything." Loki purred. It was still the weirdest thing to hear it talk. "He still has to shed his skin."

"Right. Great." Dean said sarcastically. "Why the hell is it always us." He huffed. Castiel had again rested himself against a tree and gazed seemingly half asleep. He missed the bees. "Loki, you mind...?" Dean said, looking a little hopeful. He hated it when Castiel was sad.

"I think they're the reason the shifter came for us." Castiel said, his face upset. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't apologise." Dean said, staring into those endless blue eyes. "Wasn't your fault." The angel looked down and Dean sat next to him again, putting an arm around his shoulders. "'S alrigh' man."

"Thank you." Castiel said gruffly. "I'm sorry." He said again.

"I told you, you-"

"I mean for everything else. For opening Purgatory, killing all those people..."

"Hey, hey, no." Dean said sternly. "Stop it for cryin' out loud."

"Then you forgive me?" Castiel said. He looked pained and ever so slightly confused. Dean breathed in deeply, thinking for a moment.

"Yeah, I do." These words seemed to brighten Castiel's mood a little and he rested a little against Dean's shoulder. The hunter was going to push him away, but he was just so broken, it would've made that pain in his gut worse. Anyway, though he wouldn't admit it to himself, the pressure on his shoulder felt nice. As though it belonged.

"Is Grey friendly?" Castiel asked.

"Yeah, she is. She's got a thing for Sammy."

"You mean she has a liking to him." Castiel said.

"I do." Dean smiled.

"What is the concept?"

"You mean, the reason why people like each other?" Castiel thought for a moment before giving a short nod. Dean breathed out loudly, looked up in thought and scrunched up his face a little, causing his lips to purse. "I guess, when someone's friends with someone, they find out more and more about them and they might even find the other attractive. So, when they like them, they want that relationship to go further and might even end up going out with one another. You know wha' I mean?"

"I believe so. You have this connection to someone and it feels like they're another part of you. So it pains you to be away from them." Castiel said. "Is that not correct."

"Yeah..." Dean said, a little confused on how Castiel had worked that out. "I guess that's more love, but it's a start."

"Have you ever been in love?" The angel asked. His question was sincere but it sure was an odd time to ask it.

"Uh... I think I have been. Once. Her name was Cassie. I met her years ago, was only with her for a few weeks, but I dunno..." He paused and gave a weak smile. "I haven't really thought about her much, but I do miss her."

"And Lisa?" Dean sighed.

"I guess her too. I dunno, man, it's a weird subject for me."

"I understand." Castiel said, more to make the conversation stop.

"No, you don't." Dean whispered. He could have sworn he heard the angel chuckle.

"Dean."

"Yeah, Cas?"

"What about us?" Dean froze a little and stared at Castiel. He wasn't looking at him, but it sure damn felt like it. Dean looked up; Loki wasn't there, so there was no way they could distract Castiel with bees.

"I... What d'you mean?"

"I mean, what about us. What is our relationship." Dean sighed and thought for a few seconds.

"I have no idea." He replied honestly. "But... Oh, Hell, I dunno man, what's with these questions?" Dean raised his voice making Castiel's eyes look down.

"I'm sorry." Castiel said, his voice hurt.

"Nah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't've shouted." Dean swallowed. "What I mean is that there's still a gap... You... I know it wasn't _really_ you, but... What happened, it hurt. It hurt a lot of people. But I you've done your time." Dean rubbed his stubbled chin the way he did when he was uncomfortable. "I just..." He sighed deeply.

"You have no idea." Castiel said. There was a hint of a smile on his face and Dean just nodded.

"Not a clue."

For the most part, that was true. They had such a jumble of feelings, it was almost painful. Firstly, the horrid betrayal both felt. The fact that Castiel went behind Dean's back and the fact Dean had tried to kill Castiel. The there was the guilt in even thinking that they were anything but friends and this was so much worse for Dean. He still hadn't completely forgiven the angel for what he did, but God, since he helped out Sam, it was as though he was Cas again. Not Castiel. Just plain old, normal, little weird Cas.

What was most challenging of all was the weird thought that passed through their minds. How the way Dean's eyes glinted even in the dark and the way he stood and _was_ is just a little odd to Castiel. He thought it was fascination at first, but it felt like more. And then when Dean said that love is when neither can be without the other or they'd have this gaping hole in their soul, he understood. When he was waiting for Dean to come to him in the hospital, it felt like waiting for years. It was just so... odd. There was no word he could think of for it.

_I can't like the guy _Dean thought. _I mean, that'd be weird as hell. Why do I like him so much? The last time I was like this, I lived with her for a year. Maybe it's just PTSD or some shit like that._

He looked at Castiel again and that same bubbling feeling and the way his heart quickened... _God, I like him. Shit._

"Shit." Dean mumbled, not realising he's said the last word out loud.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Dean said too quickly. "Just... thinking."

"Sam said not to think too hard. It might give you a head ache." Castiel said so seriously, Dean couldn't help but laugh.

"I've been... reasoning."

"Sam told you not to."

"Shut up, smart ass." Dean said smirking at the angel. His blue eyes, _crap, his eyes man_, were looking up at Dean. "I uh... I was thinking about what you asked; about us."

"Oh. Have you come to a conclusion?"

"Yeah... I hope so. Trust." He said firmly. "Trust and family, 'cause that's what you are."

"Family." Castiel repeated. He didn't believe it in his heart, but it was a start. "You still see me as your brother?" Dean gave a slow nod.

"I guess." The uncertainty was dripping from his mouth.

Their eyes locked for what must have been the tenth time that night. Castiel was tilting his head; the way he did when he thought. It was to the right and his hair would sometimes flick with the movement. How Dean had noticed such small detail was beyond him but he felt his eyes concentrate on the brilliant blue of the angel's. They weren't really his own, they were his vessel's. Jimmy Novak, God bless him. Dean had only seen Castiel in one other form; as Jimmy's daughter and he damned himself for forgetting her name.

They were Castiel's eyes now though. His brilliant blue eyes that brought their own light. Dean only realised he was moving towards his angel when he saw those eyes looking at him so intensely, almost longingly.

"Dean." Castiel croaked. Dean blinked, moved back and swallowed.

"Sorry." Was all he could say and the angel knew it.

"It's alright." He said whilst shifting his weight. "Your eyes interest me."

That was the first hint. The hint that Castiel was feeling the same way, but not really knowing. A clue if you'd like.

"What d'you mean?"

"They're interesting. They are green and become much browner in the dark, which is curious. And they have flickers of gold in them."

"Really? I never noticed."

"That would be because they are your eyes. A person finds it difficult to see their own eyes clearly."

"Well, if it helps, I don't think I've seen anyone with bluer eyes." Dean said. He was tired and was seemingly able to let anything slip out of his mouth without him even realising it.

Castiel stared at him a little longer as though he was trying to work out a puzzle. That's what humanity was of course. The biggest puzzle God made and most likely one that wasn't meant to be worked out. Those humans that do know what it is keep quiet and give guidance to others. They are the ones that angels wonder over, keep as safe as they can. The only ones that can see angels, which made Castiel wonder why Dean couldn't see his true form. Of all people, surely the Winchesters would be able to see angels.

"Dean?"

"Yeah Cas?"

"Do you want to see my wings?" Dean stayed quiet for a moment.

"Your... _your_ _wings_?"

"That is what I said." Dean nodded - a little too eagerly - and the angel sat down a metre away. He slipped off his coat and then Dean heard a rip. Seconds later, a massive light brown wing grew out of Castiel's right side and the left one came out moments later. Dean couldn't help but smile.

"They really are fluffy." He said. Castiel reached one forward and poked Dean with it. "Dude." Dean said smiling so much it hurt his cheeks. The feathers were incredibly soft and light. What made them Castiel's though were the small scars that riddled them. Dean was sure that if he asked, Castiel would be able to tell him how he'd gotten each one. He never would though and Dean wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt Castiel again.

"Your thoughts?" Asked the angel. Dean finally drew his eyes away from the glowing pinion and looked at Castiel's eyes. Was there nothing about this guy that Dean didn't find nice?

"They're pretty awesome." Dean said, pointing his eyes back onto his wings. He reached out for them and stroked them a little.

"That tickles." Castiel said, a giggle escaping his mouth. He closed his mouth tightly, a bit confused on what he did. He shrunk his wings away and he put back on his coat. The wood seemed to darken slightly as they did.

"Sorry."

"It isn't a problem." Castiel said. He shifted back to Dean and they sat next to each other a little awkwardly. "What about the other emotions?" Dean turned his head and saw the tired bags under his angel's eyes. Not _his _angel, no, that would be stupid.

"Uh, you mean like fear or something?"

"Yes."

"Well, fear is like... a tension in your bones and your body that you get when something or someone makes you feel unsafe. It can be irrational, like the fear of spiders."

"Or the fearing of flight." Castiel said and Dean laughed at the angel's knowledge.

"Yeah, or that. It's just something that makes a person feel uncomfortable and normally means they act oddly. Like me on a plane. I can barely move. Then there's Sammy and his fear of clowns. He winces every time he sees one. Makes no sense, but we're still scared."

"I've never felt the sensation of fear before."

"You _are_ an angel."

"I believe that the more time I spend with you, I do gain some feelings."

"How d'you figure that out?"

"I felt worry for you." Castiel said simply, his voice a little wavering. Then Dean understood more than he thought he really should. They both rely on each other and have become dependent. That might simply be the only reason they have survived.

"I worry for you too, man. I mean, when you woke up, you were different and vulnerable and I was scared about what the angels and demons would do to you."

"You had fear for my safety?"

"I always do." Dean scoffed. "I mean, you might be an angel and all, but you do some real stupid things."

"Such as?"

"Like trusting me." Dean said immediately. "I don't think anything's been that idiotic before."

"I enjoy your company." Castiel said. He brought his knees up and began hugging them. His cheek rested on his knee which made the left side of his face squish up. "You're also much nicer than the other angels." Dean smiled a little and then chuckled.

"Dude, your face." He said, his teeth showing. When he looked back at him, the angel was sitting up again, his eyes looking a little hurt. "No, I mean, your face looked really funny because it was squashed..." He tried to explain, but gave in. His face sank a little, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Castiel move back into a ball. The corner of his mouth lifted a little.

"Are you tired?" Castiel asked, his voice a little mumbled.

"A little." Dean replied, confirming it with a yawn. Castiel shrugged off his coat and stretched out his wings. His right one covered Dean completely and the human was immediately warm. "Night Cas." He said, his voice breaking with sleep.

"Good night Dean." The angel said. He heard the soft snoring of his friend, saw the rise and fall of his chest. Castiel smiled a little and put his hand on Dean's head.

Dean smiled in his sleep and his hand held onto Castiel's tiredly. He slept again, holding the angel's hand. Castiel felt a small tingle in his heart as it beat.

* * *

Sam and Grey were in the Impala again and she began to realise why the brothers called this car their home. When Grey would look up at him, Sam's eyes were always trained on the road, staring ahead. But since last night, there had been a very small smile on his lips and Grey knew that it was a rare thing to see. So she looked away and stared ahead as well, hoping to see what they were looking for. It soon came into view and Grey saw Sam's body relax at the familiar place.

They were in Sioux Falls and were going to spend some time in the crypts of books that Bobby had stacked up over the many years of being a hunter. It was a vast collection, one that was all too familiar to Sam but like a treasure trove to Grey. They barely spoke during their reading sessions and only began a small conversation when Grey forced Sam to eat at eleven in the evening.

Occasionally, Grey would shuffle over to Sam and he would hug her tightly. He'd always hug her tightly.

"How hard is it to find a bloody _door_?" Grey cursed. Sam laughed a little; it was always funny when she swore, even if it was such a minor one.

"Apparently, really hard." Sam sighed. "I hope Dean's doin' alright."

"I'm sure he's fine you great softy." She smirked. "He thinks very highly of Castiel, doesn't he?"

"You noticed too, huh?" Sam smirked. "I do not understand why they haven't kissed yet."

"I have no idea, it might be because Castiel's an angel. Just, throwing that thought out there."

"Still." Sam said.

"I had a look in the newspaper earlier." Grey said indicating the crumpled paper on the arm chair. "I think there's something we should check out." Sam sighed and held out his hand. Grey grabbed the paper and handed it to him. His eyes immediately spotted the twenty-times circled article about a man's head being cut off.

"Just looks like a stupid hunter killin' a vampire."

"I know. That's why we should check it out. Put the fear of God in him."

"We actually could literally do that." Sam smiled to himself. "Fine. It's not too far away. We'll go tomorrow."

"Good." Grey pecked his lips and ran upstairs. "Don't spend too long down there!" She shouted, making her way to the bedroom they had designated as their own. Sam stared at the paper in front of him, looking at all the translations Grey had made, his brain hurting at the weirdness they all held. Some nonsense about it being at the centre of the world, which has to be a load of crap or 'bloody impossible' as Grey would say.

Breaking his promise and not going back upstairs until three hours later, Sam saw Grey sleeping soundly. He was relieved, but only slightly. They were still hunted by Crowley and his demons and so they were keeping a look out as always. Grey had the idea of putting a perimetre of iron around the house which she somehow made with salt in it. Sam didn't ask how she did it, but was grateful to know that it would keep the demons from coming in.

He landed next to her and she hit him when she woke.

"Jackass." Grey mumbled whilst wrapping her cold arms around him.

"Sleepy head." Sam replied. This earned him a soft kick and both fell asleep once again.

* * *

Her eyes snapped open at six. Sam was startled by the sudden movement, but was soon calming down Grey.

"Angels." She whispered. Sam's blood drained from his face and neither spoke for some time.

* * *

Dean didn't think it was possible to run as fast as he did. He heard some sort of lightning and was grateful when he saw Grey running a little behind him. There was no point in flying with Castiel, which just made the angel even more twitchy. But then an angel attacked Grey and her ghostly form disappeared. Dean recognised the angel immediately; no angel but Zachariah had that ugly a face.

"Here, Deany, Deany, Dean." He shouted. His wings were large and menacing and when they brushed over Dean's back, it wasn't the thrill like he got with Castiel but more like a paralysing fear. Castiel was no where to be seen and his world went black as he was knocked out, the ground not softening the blow.

"Got you now." Smirked Zachariah. "Oh, Raphael will be pleased." He picked Dean up with one hand and Castiel didn't struggle when he was teleported to their prison. The shackles around the angels wrists were tight and there was no way he'd be able to get out of them.

The cage he was in had two other souls in with them.

"Heya Cas. Glad you could join us." Gabriel said.

"Idiot." Balthazar spat out. Both angels stared at Dean. "And you need to explain that." Balthazar said, pointing to the unconscious human. Castiel sighed. _Father, forgive my sins _he thought.

He told his story, unknowing of the evil eyes watching him.


	9. Idiots, Friends and Kisses

Sam was still hugging Grey as she panted, trying to talk but finding not enough air to do so.

"I don't know what going to happen to him." She cried out. "We need to get them out." Her fists pummelled the bed sheets. Sam didn't stop her.

"Grey, Grey, look at me." He said. She opened her eyes and looked at his. There was a faint hint of blue and green in them. "We will get them out. But we can't do anything wrong." He said.

"They need my help." She said. "Do you have sleeping pills? Or a narcotic? Something!"

"Calm down." Sam said softly. "Everything is going to be fine." He kissed her forehead and Grey's shuddering breath faltered and tears rolled off her cheeks. "Why're you so upset?" He said, a faint smile on his lips.

"Because Dean's my friend." She said forcefully. "And I can help him."

Sam understood, of course. He's been there too many times. He's wanted to save Dean and he'd risk his life over and over again to do so. That's always been their chink in the armour and it showed. During the Mystery Spot incident, Sam didn't care about his life and became a near impossible force to stop.

"You have to let me save him." Grey said, her voice less shaky now.

"We'll save him. We'll find this damn door and unlocked it. He'll come back. And, it's not like he can die." Sam reasoned.

"But he can be tortured. And the angels did not look happy."

"Cas?" Dean said. His voice was raw and his muscles ached so badly he could barely move his legs. He coughed a little. "Cas, you there?"

"Yes, Dean. I am here." Said Castiel's soothing voice.

He thanked God. A smile perked on his lips. He saw Balthazar and Gabriel and his face became a beacon of hope. His eyes were glinting and mouth smiling wide. Never would he have thought he'd be so happy to see them. "Balthazar? Gabriel?"

"Hey Deano!" Gabriel shouted, that mocking grin of his covering his face. "How the Hell did you get into Purgatory?"

"That's a good question." Dean said. At that moment, Castiel wrapped an arm around Dean. He was shaking. "What's up Cas?"

"I... don't understand." He replied. His eyes were wide. He was completely terrified.

"Cas, I got you. You're safe."

"What's wrong with him?" Balthazar asked.

"You know Sam had Lucifer in his head?" Dean said, reminding the angel and earning a glare from Gabriel. "I dunno what he did, but Cas kind of... absorbed it. Now he doesn't like fightin'."

Castiel held onto Dean a little tighter. His brothers looked at one another for a second and a glint of sadness crossed their faces. Their solemn mood was interrupted by a clanging as more angels flooded outside their cage. Castiel tried to hide himself and it suddenly struck Dean that he must've killed most of those in front of him.

"Where is he!" One shouted. It was a male, tall with near golden hair.

"I can see you, Castiel." Yelled another female who's hair was as red as rubies but eyes as black as coal. She looked horrible and so Dean looked away promptly.

"Would you guys just shut up!" Dean shouted, glaring at them all. They quietened down and as if by some miracle, they all realised he was human.

"Yeah, we don't get it either." Gabriel said, motioning towards him and Balthazar. Castiel moved his head over Dean's shoulder. His hand had moved next to Dean's and they were so close Dean could feel it. The angels glowered at him.

"Cas, it's OK." Dean comforted. "Now, if you dicks haven't noticed yet, we don't like you. G'bye." Dean practically waved them away. Gabriel nearly shooed, but thought better of it. The angels started laughing at him, but Dean was really not impressed.

"What are you doing here, human?"

"Nothin', just killed the Leviathans. That's all." Some of the angels stared at him and others laughed again, though much less than last time. "Oh, and me and my brother stuck Lucifer and Michael in the cage." He continued. He gave them all a smile. Their laughter turned to frowns of disgust.

"Winchester." One growled. Balthazar and Gabriel were the ones to start tittering as he did so.

"Sorry, it's just... Humans 2, Angels 0." Gabriel laughed.

"Move, you imbeciles!" Shouted Raphael from the far end of the corridor. The angels vanished suddenly and Zachariah and the arch angel stood, the former standing slightly further away. "Hello Castiel." He said.

"Please let us go." Castiel said. His eyes were as innocent as a child's with just as much fear. "We will likely be leaving soon."

"I don't doubt it. Sam and Dean are completely inseparable." Raphael stated before turning his attention to Dean. "In fact, I'm rather counting on it."

"You're not coming back on our planet again, you son of a bitch." Dean spat.

"But Sam is going to get you back, is he not? I think he'd go insane. Again." He laughed. Zachariah smiled a little but was still glaring at Dean.

"Don't you dare talk about my brother like that."

"What're you going to do Dean. You can't kill what's already dead and you're locked up."

"I've done harder things." He said, standing, leaving the cowering Castiel to the sight of the archangel. Raphael snarled.

"What's wrong Castiel? Can't stand being trapped?"

"No, he can't. You know Sam was tortured and you know that it's gone. It's because Castiel took on his crazy and now he doesn't fight and will never fight. The only time he's attempted to harm something else was when he was helping me save the world from a bunch of dicks. You treat him with the respect he deserves." Dean shouted, his green eyes cold and filled with hate.

"You humans; So forgiving." Zachariah said. "You think you're so special Dean, but you're just like everyone else."

"You said so yourself, douche bag." Dean nearly smiled. "I'm a born hunter and I'm not like any other human. I'm Michael's vessel, so piss off."

"I can see we aren't going to get anywhere with you. Maybe your little hippy friend can help us out." Raphael smirked. Gabriel and Balthazar stood quickly.

"Yeah, you try." Balthazar said.

"Did you forget that he was the one that got you here?"

"No, but I swear to our Father, you touch him and I won't be nice."

"Protecting your murderer. How quaint." Raphael scowled. He turned and walked out, Zachariah following suit.

"Jackass!" Dean and Gabriel shouted at the same time.

"You've forgiven me?" Castiel asked. His eyebrows were tilted upwards at the centre making his eyes even more puppy-dog-like.

"Yes, you fool. I never blamed you." Balthazar smiled. "Anyway, I knew at one point or another you'd get us out of this place." He patted Castiel's shoulder. "I never doubted you for a second, brother."

"Thank you." Castiel replied. He turned to Dean and his eyes smiled.

"If it helps, I saw Grey. She knows we were attacked by the Dick-Squad so she and Sammy'll work extra hard to get us out."

"Grey?" Balthazar questioned. "You mean Grey Greethar, the prophet?"

"Yeah, I do." Dean smiled a little. "How do you know her?"

"She's very friendly." Castiel said. Gabriel smirked at them both.

"I'm meant to be looking after her, so the quicker I'm down there, the safer she'll be."

"You'd like her. " Dean smirked.

He could never put his finger on it, but there was definitely a connection between him and angels. Sam knew angels and was friends with Castiel but Dean seemed to be the only human that could talk easily with them as though they were humans themselves. Gabriel and Balthazar would laugh at his stupid jokes and quirky language and Castiel shifted closer to Dean until he was resting his head on his shoulder with Dean's arm wrapped around his waist.

"So, since when were you two a couple?" Balthazar asked easily. Dean jerked away from Castiel at that moment.

"What? You're kidding me?" Dean laughed nervously.

"Oh, come on, you two practically have eye sex every time you glance at each other." Gabriel said. "You seriously didn't know you liked each other?"

"Idiots." Balthazar murmured. He put his hand over his eyes. "Not looking!" He said, loudly. Gabriel snickered and Dean kicked his shins (only to be reminded never to kick his shins ever again) in response.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Dean said, cringing a little. He moved to the back of the cell and rested his head, closing his eyes as he did so

"Dean, do you like me?" Castiel asked quietly. Opening his eyes, he could see Castiel leaning closely to him. His lips were a little purse.

"I, uh..." Dean faltered.

"Cute." Gabriel said. Dean glared at him. The two angels vanished, and soon Dean could hear their voices from another cell. "You're welcome!" The arch angel giggled.

"Dean?" Castiel said. Dean looked up and saw his blue eyes looking sweetly at him. He moved his hand and their fingers linked together.

"Yeah, I do."

"So you don't see me as a brother then?" Castiel questioned. Dean smiled a little.

"No."

"You like me as Grey does Sam?" Dean's teeth showed as the grin on his face grew wider. He pulled Castiel's head down and kissed his cheek sending an unknown warmth through Castiel's skin.

"Yeah." Dean whispered. Their lips hovered over each other. Dean's hand moved to the back of Castiel's head, his thumb stroking the angel's jaw. "Are you sure, Cas?" Dean asked.

"I have a strong compulsion to..." Castiel mumbled, his words coming out as low croaks. Dean pushed Castiel's head down towards him. Their mouths touched lightly and a warm shock ran through them both. Dean pressed a little harder and their lips moved against each other. Castiel parted their kiss before moving forwards again. Dean moved their lips and their tongues mixed together in their mouths. "I learned that from the pizza man." Castiel breathed.

"Oh, I bet you did." Dean said. Their mouths collided again and Dean ran his fingers through Castiel's thick hair.

Grey had calmed down enough for Sam and her to find this hunter. Or hunters. They were, possibly, the biggest idiots they'd ever met. They were found in the near by town in the local motel. It was by the book until they saw what they were using.

Old, battered newspapers lined the floor. The door wasn't even locked, guns and knives were lying around everywhere and Sam and Grey simply looked at the two terrified people in front of them with nothing but disappointment.

"So." Grey began. "Care to explain why you're so bad at this job?" These were the first words the hunters heard from her. They were scared, but Grey knew it wasn't because of her. There was a near-giant standing right next to her, after all.

"I.. Wh..Who are you?" One stuttered.

"My name's Grey." She said. "You don't need to know my guys name, but I'd love to hear yours."

"Harry, this is my sister Tess."

"Hey." Sam finally spoke. Grey nearly laughed at his attempt to make his voice go even lower and not sound as much like a moose. "We'll ask again. Why are you killing these guys?"

"How did you know it was us?"

"Because only-" Grey started, but Sam put a hand to her mouth, only too aware on what she was going to say.

"We're good." Sam replied. He spotted a hint of recognition from Tess. "Sorry about Grey, she's a little... You know. English." Grey kicked his shins and her winced.

"Hey, moose face, I can kick your butt any day I'd like." She smirked. "You deal with these guys, I'll go get some grub. They need it." She pointed to the two skinny siblings and walked out.

"My name's Sam Winchester." Sam said simply. "Yeah, that serial killer guy. Wasn't me, it was a Leviathan. They're dead now." He said, taking a seat.

"Sam Winchester." Tess said

"_The_ Sam Winchester?" Harry exclaimed.

"Uh... Yeah?" Sam hesitated.

"You're, like, a celebrity in the hunting world."

"You're our hero." Tess said, her eyes glintering.

"Ha, yeah, very funny."

"We're not joking. I swear on my _life_." Harry said. Sam was giving the two a very odd look.

"Uh..." He just said again. There really were no words that could explain his thoughts at that moment. So he just sat and stared a little.

"Is it true? That you stopped the Apocalypse?" Tess asked.

"Yeah...That was, like... two, three years ago?" Sam said. "Explain something to me. You think _I'm_ a celebrity?" A smiled waved on his lips. "How could anyone think that."

"You're a hero." Harry said, as though it was obvious. "You've saved the world!"

"Yeah, but... How much do you know about me?" He was becoming a bit more worried now.

"You were born on the 2nd of May 1983, have an older brother called Dean. Your mom died on the 2nd of November, when you were six months old exactly, in a house fire which then sent your family on a journey to kill all the evil stuff out there." Harry said as if he was reading it. Sam stared for a moment, but relaxed. At least it wasn't a lot.

"Where is your brother?" Tess asked. Harry kicked her leg when she asked.

"No, it's fine..." Sam sighed. "He's... Well, I guess he's dead."

"You guess?"

"I don't really know. He's died enough times, I should get it by now." Sam laughed to himself. "Just, do one thing for me. Stop hunting. I know the feeling, like you have to save the world. But it's a lot harder than people make it out to be. You may win something, but you lose too much of yourself in the fight. It doesn't make you feel better, it doesn't mean that you'll be famous and it definitely doesn't mean that everything'll be great afterwards.

"My brother's died over a hundred times and most of those are because we upset someone. That's it. I've died a few times trying to save this damned world. And every single time I do, I lose a part of myself. Hell, when I went in the cage, I came back without my soul.

"This job eats you up if you aren't ready for it. Don't go wasting your life just because you think it's a great job, a great reason. It's not. It's the crappiest reason ever to do this job. You lose too much, way too much. My mom's dead, my dad's dead, my step dad's dead, Jess is dead, Ruby betrayed us so she's dead, Gabriel's dead, Balthazar's dead everyone's just _dead_. Dean and Castiel are just the latest on a long list of people dying.

"So stop what you're doing, pack up your things and go live a normal life. I don't want anyone else to die because of me."

There was an eerie silence over the three hunters. Harry and Tess looked at each other, trying to imagine what it would be like without the other and neither could imagine a worser fate. They gave Sam a nod just as Grey walked through the door with a pizza in her hand. Sam held out an arm and Grey sat on his lap, taking a slice and eating it.

Everyone took one in silence. When it was all gone, the two left saying that Grey and Sam could keep their weapons, that they needed it more than they did. As the door closed, Grey sat so she was facing Sam, locking their eyes together.

"Are you OK, Sam?" She asked softly. He gave a little nod and craned his neck to give Grey a kiss. "I'm not gonna die anytime soon. I don't plan on it." She kissed him again.

"We'd better get away from here." Sam said. Grey kissed his neck.

"Hm?" She hummed as she began to kiss behind his ear.

"Yeah. Angels." Sam said, making Grey stop.

"You're right." Grey sighed, kissing Sam on the lips. "Let's go then, we've got a soul and a grace to save." They packed away some of the rarer guns, Grey picking one up that.

Balthazar and Gabriel had moved themselves so that they could get a better view. It's weird and pervy, but they just _had_ to see Castiel kiss Dean because they'd known for ages that they would and felt nearly privilaged that they would be the first to see it.

"Aren't they cute." Gabriel commented as he saw

"Absolutely adorable." Balthazar stated sarcastically.

"It took 'em long enough." Gabriel laughed. "I bet the only reason Dean stabbed Castiel was because he couldn't-'

"Right, I did not need that imagery." Balthazar laughed. "Although, now that you mention it..." He said in thought.

Dean and Castiel had been kissing for some time now and didn't show any time of stopping. Obviously, Dean was very tempted to rip Castiel's clothes off but they had an audience and Castiel so clearly pointed out, reminding Dean upon their location and who was there with them. If there was anything that could break the mood more, it would be because the other partner had just died. Castiel sat beside Dean, resting his head and being cradled by his partner. Dean began laughing to himself. _I just snogged an angel._

"Are you confident Sam will get us out of here?" Castiel asked a few seconds later

"You know I am." Dean replied, looking at his big blue eyes. "You worry too much."

"I'm not worried. I am simply curious about what your brother would do in reaction to learning of our common liking for each other." It seemed like a simple question to answer, and it really should've been. Sam was the first person to recognise Dean and Castiel's 'common liking for each other' and had set out many times to try and get them to kiss. Thinking back, Dean picked out them all and was a little amused about how many times this had actually been.

"He'll get it."

"When we return," Castiel began, Dean liking the optimism in his voice, "can we watch the bees?"

"'Course we can." Dean said. "If you want, we could watch the bees everyday. You know I have to do my job still, but I'm sure I can go with you."

"I dislike it when you hunt." Castiel said. Evidentially, this was a time for many thoughts and secrets to be revealed. "There is always a likelihood that you will become fatally maimed, especially due to your ageing and un healthy food intake-"

"Hey, wait, did you just call me old?" Dean said. He looked angry, and his face was serious and dark, but he had a playful voice underneath it all.

"- as these factors can lead to illness and disease." Castiel continued, as if Dean hadn't said anything. "No I didn't call you old. That would be ridiculous. Gabriel is old, I'm old, you are certainly not old."

"How old are you?" Dean asked, his expression completely changed.

"Three hundred thousand six hundred and twenty three." Castiel said. "I am unsure of my date of birth, especially as I wasn't technically born, so we were all assigned different days to celebrate. Mine is on the 24th of January." Dean made an odd face.

"Dude, that's my birthday."

And so they became to realise the oddest thing. Both thought it in that instant, but only Dean said it out loud.

They both were brought into being on exactly the same day. Gabriel was the only one that completely understood the importance of this, but didn't voice it. That would only bring up the word destiny, and everyone there knew how much Dean and Castiel hated fate and destiny. Literally, she did try to kill them several times. Balthazar was there; nearly killed her back.

Complications were afoot on Earth as well. Sam was upset and wondering how many people had turned to hunting because of stories they'd heard or read of the Winchester brothers. The incredibly handsome WInchester brothers - a detail which everyone left out for some reason - who've saved the world. Apparently, their little adventure with the Leviathans wasn't well known yet (_good_ Sam couldn't help thinking) so there was no mention to that.

It still made Sam's skin crawl to think someone nearly ruined their life because of him. Grey kept reassuring him but then he just kept on thinking about how many lives he's altered, how many had become ruined because of his family.

Jessica was dead because the demons wanted Sam to hunt. His mother was dead because she walked into his nursery. John died saving Dean, Bobby died saving the world, Castiel and Dean died saving the world and all of the others lives they'd left an impression on. What if they were hurt, just because they had seen them once.

What about Sarah, all those years ago. Sam had liked her very much and she put her nose into their line of work and came out changed. Who knew what she was doing now. Had her father died and she inherit the business? Had she found a man and become engaged? Had she died whilst trying to kill a supernatural being? Had she died being interrogated by demons, angels, Leviathan and all the other creatures that hated the Winchesters?

But these thoughts weren't unusual in Sam's mind. Lucifer was prone to using such thoughts as a psychological weapon, changing himself into the people he's known and what they've become. Some he didn't show, which lifted Sam's heart a little but then he saw what some others had become, losing everything for a cause they didn't even know existed.

Inias watched over Grey and Sam, though they didn't know it. He had been observing them, keeping them as safe as a lone angel could because he knew that it was the only way to get Castiel back. And now that Grey had exclaimed that angels were in Purgatory, he couldn't hold back much longer.

They heard him fly down to them just as they were packing bags. It seem like bad timing. Within seconds, Sam had his hands on an angel's blade and Grey with a large machete and gun.

Sam was the first to relax.

"Inias?" He said. A flicker of a smile appeared on his face. Grey put down the weapons, remembering how the angel was loyal to Castiel. "Wh-What're you doing here?"

"I have been watching over you for some time. I was going to see you earlier, but you were... busy." He said. Grey smirked a little but Sam seemed to ignore it.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, there is nothing wrong. I was... I was wondering if you needed my help. To get Castiel back." His suggestion hung in the air and Grey couldn't help but like the idea of having an angel watch their back whilst they rescued them.

"We don't know if it involves an angel, but having you around sure would help in the demon department." Grey said. Sam nodded, still staring at the angel curiously.

"Yeah..." He said seemingly thinking of something else. "Sure, sounds good." Inias smiled brightly.

They finished packing and were in the car, Inias sitting silently in the back, Sam and Grey too aware of him to put on any music and sing. But then he stated how the music entertained him, so they smiled and put it on, filling the atmosphere with guitar riffs and gravely voices.

Bobby's house was in front of them and Grey commented on how she could fix it up a little, make it nicer. They researched a while, finding nothing new, and slept in their beds. Inias stayed awake, sitting silently on the couch, the TV in front of him. He was confused about the show he was watching, but some part of him enjoyed the pointlessness of it all.

Grey had a dream that night but it wasn't one she remembered nor was it in Purgatory. Sam wrote all she murmured down and as soon as he did, she woke suddenly, Sam having to hold her still.

_As the life of the oracle ends, _

_ Two shall become ever present._

_ As these two lives jump through the gateway, _

_ Their memories and hearts destroyed,_

_ All can be undone with a tear drop from the sun,_

_ And a whistle from the seers mouth. _


	10. Recording at Dawn

A tape is wiring in Bobby's home. It's dark and it's cold and it's so damn empty. Sam is hovering over the desk, piles of paper and pens and books covering the wooden surface. A storm rages outside, rain hitting the windows so hard it nearly breaks them, and the power has been broken for a day now. The candle light flickers as an unknown breeze flows through the room bringing the smell of bitter rain with it.

The hunter is tired. So tired. He only wants to sleep, but he just can't, scared of what might be waiting when he arrives at the gates of his unconscious mind. He swallows hard, the sweet beer leaving a comforting after taste in his throat and head.

"Hey." he speaks into the recorder. "I... I needed to talk to you, but it's to late for me to visit. I just needed to talk about you, talk to you about how..." His voice breaks off and he turns off the recording. He rubs his head, trying to formulate the right words. He clicks it on again. "My name's Sam Winchester, but you know that. Everyone knows that..." He laughs sourly. "You'd have laughed at that." He sighs.

"Anyway, I just.. the prophecy. It meant you had to die to save Dean and Cas. I... I don't... Why the fuck does my life have to be so fucked up?" He says, anger suddenly over taking him. "I get you, you perfect, brilliant and genius person in my life and then the world just snatches you away. I should be used to it. Fuck that." He says angrily, blaming himself more than anything.

"I remember you telling me about the angels. How they had their own secret world in Purgatory that even the monsters avoided. Fucking angels."

* * *

_Raphael looked angrily down the room. He hated this place, hated the monsters there and especially hated the new comers. That damned Winchester and his fallen boyfriend. At least Zachariah was there to make things a little more bearable. He shared his hatred, especially towards Dean._

_ "Zachariah, would you do something for me?" Raphael asked, sensing the other angel's presence. "I don't know how I want to torture Dean."_

_ "You should leave that to me." Zachariah laughed. "I've had many ideas over the years on how I want to destroy his soul."_

_ "It would have to be worse than Alastair."_

_ "Maybe we could take something from our brother." Zachariah suggested. He had no need to clarify which one. _

_ "I will not fall to his level. He is weak minded."_

_ "But still our brother."_

_ "If we thought like that, Castiel wouldn't be locked up and kissing his pet human." Raphael spat out. "They both disgust me."_

_ "How about we torture them both and make them watch." Zachariah said. Raphael grinned._

_ "I knew you would come up with something." He said. But before he could leave, the door opened and a mass of horrid creatures entered. "This is the angel's domain, leave us!"_

_ "We want the angel. The one that killed our father." A werewolf growled. Unlike the trickster, werewolves looked as they should; a huge grey wolf standing on its hind legs. This particular one was snarling, baring its canine teeth and its eyes were glinting like poisonous rubies. Standing next to it was an odd looking beast, looking much like a bat with the sharpest teeth ever seen by the angels._

_ "He chained up our father, tortured him for information he had no idea of knowing."_

_ "Oh, you mean that idiot Castiel?" Zachariah laughed. "We heard of his work. It's the only good deed he did for the world."_

_ "Now, now, Zachariah. We have guests." Raphael said smoothly. "There is nothing you can give us in return." A hiss sounded from behind them and their stomach tensed. A thick, black snake slithered close to them, wrapping its winding body around their legs._

_ "Gentlemen, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement." It hissed._

_ "We don't talk to Leviathan." Raphael spat. "You were sent here for a reason."_

_ "Only idiots believe in reason. My only thoughts are to destroy Castiel and Dean Winchester. Make them suffer, make them squirm. They will escape, we all know this. But we're allowed some fun."_

* * *

"I thought angels were great. I thought they'd be beautiful creatures that cared about us, that cared we'd risk our lives to save people. But they hate us because we save people. They hate us for doing God's work while they try and destroy it." Sam exclaims. He looks up briefly, hearing someone shift in bed.

The room is black now. The clouds in the never ending sky are as dark as coal, the rain making no rainbow or sheen for light to glitter off. It just sticks to the window, making the world distorted just like. The flame on the five candle's wicks have gone, the smoking remains and scent of the stick remaining.

His voice quietens. "They tried to destroy you."

* * *

_Dean and Castiel are grasping onto each other, holding each other as they hear screams through the other room. They'd seen the procession of beasts, none of them sharing the kind green of Loki's eyes. They're all red and horrid, full of a vengeance that makes Demons look like toddlers. _

_ All too human fears creep under Castiel's skin, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He crawls away, dragging his friend out of the sight of the monsters. _They can't have him _he thinks _He's my human.

_He sees Gabriel leering at the doorway and Balthazar is equally disgusted. They can all hear the voices in the other room and a shiver goes down Dean's spine as he hears a slither so strange and yet so familiar._

_ He shrinks away, holding Dean tight against him._

* * *

"You told me how you stood invisible in front of them. You told me how scared they were... and then you had to just go and be you." Sam laughed. "As the Doctor said about the weeping angels, their greatest asset is their greatest curse. Too nice for you own good.

"I miss you." He says, voice cracking slightly. "I miss you so much and I didn't even know you for long."

* * *

_Grey and Sam were standing next to each other in the queue, the sight and feeling too familiar to Grey. Sam's fidgeting in his shoes, toes wiggling and hands folding together._

_ "Sam, seriously. It's a queue."_

_ "Yeah, but I'm not British." He complains. It's finally their go, the cashier quick and glancing at Sam. Her face is pretty, fingers elegant, even as she scans packaged meat through the invisible scanner. Obviously, she's interested in him and Grey doesn't blame her. _

_ Grey entwines their fingers together just like they do in bed and the feeling relaxes Sam enough for him to stop moving. He hadn't been the same since they all worked out the prophecy a week before, the realisation forming uncomfortably in their skin._

_ She didn't want to die, but the last part interested her the most. Sam seemed to ignore it; always the pessimist._

_ "I can survive." Grey insists every night as they dig deeper, their ideas finally forming into something that might help. "Just look."_

_ "But it could go wrong."_

_ "I'm willing to take that risk." She whispers gently against his skin. He relaxes around her, their naked skin touching. "I'll risk it."_

_ "But-" He was about to say how he cared about her, how he can't pick but she knows him too well. No one is more important to him than Dean and she loves him for it. She kisses him suddenly, their lips turning into a hot mess. _

_ It had been like that a lot. When the tension and the prospect of what they had to do became too much and they both just fell into each other, relieving the fear and terror for just one night. Or five._

* * *

Sam remembers those nights as clearly as if they were happening at that moment. His skin tingled as he remembered the way she would kiss every scar, the back of his neck running her lips down his body, forcing him to whimper her name. His hands would run through her thick hair as their lips touched sending a shock through him that he never would recover from. Still hasn't.

"Barely a month." He says as the memories shake his bones. "And I guess... I know I loved you. Your eyes, your lips, the way you walked, the way you just were. I miss it."

He let out a shaking breath and stops the recording.

* * *

_"Hey, love birds!" Grey whispered harshly. They didn't turn their heads, both consumed with fear, holding onto each other, Castiel's head resting limply on Dean's shoulder. Grey sighs and turns away. _

_ Gabriel is staring at her and he smiles weakly. _

_ "You're gonna get us out of this shit hole?"_

_ "That's the plan. I'm Grey."_

_ "Gabriel." He says. Balthazar is looking at him as though he was mad, but of course they can't see her. She nods briefly and jogs away, searching the place until she's ripped from that world suddenly. And it hurts when she does. Her breaths are sharp and quick. It's becoming harder and harder to get into Purgatory with every night that passes and she's worried. So worried._

_ Awake and bare against Sam's skin, Grey begins thinking and piecing together their ideas. She knows what she has to do and has known for some time. But her soul is weakening and she knows it has to be done soon._

_ "Grey?" Sam breaks her thoughts. "Are you OK?"_

No, of course not. _"Yeah, I'm fine." She says. "I love you." Grey says with a little huff of air. Her soft eyes land on Sam's and she smiles weakly._

_ "Seriously, what's wrong."_

_ "Such a bloody pessimist." And she roles on her side, ignoring the feeling Sam's staring at her back. He just sighs, kisses her neck and leaves. He's done this before with Dean and has learnt not to pry. She'll come out of her shell at some point; he knows it._

* * *

"I thought I knew you but I never really did. Only when I met Alexis and your parents did I really find out how incredible you are. I mean, I knew you were incredible, but not _that_ incredible. Helping out charities, orphans, all that crazy shit good people do. I still don't get how you managed to do it all.

"And, yeah, I met your parents. They... Well, they weren't exactly pleased to meet me as you can imagine. Thought I was a... well, yeah, you get the picture. At least Alexis was alright; nothing like you. But she was sweet, I get why you liked her."

Sam took another swig from the seemingly endless bottle that hangs in his hand. He puts it down and closes his eyes a moment.

"You know, when you told me you worked it all out, that it was gonna be fine, I thought you meant that you would be here with me and Dean and Cas. One big messed up family but family none the less."

* * *

_Grey stood in the basement and breathed in the old smells of musky books and sour paints, the dusty salt drifting into her nose. It smelt like hunting. Her hands were slick with her own blood and she leaned against a pillar admiring her art. _

_ There were three crosses, circles of various sizes and a lot of Enochian symbols that didn't make any sense. She looked at her watch and closed her eyes, arms outstretched. _

_ A foreign tongue crossed her lips, the words making the room shake lightly. _

_ "Grey?!" Sam shouted from above her. But she continued, trying to ignore his words and the feeling to just tell him it's all gonna be OK. _

_ Suddenly electricity sparked from her hands and everything went black._

Sam walked slowly down the creaking steps. He stared at the far wall blankly and moved his eyes away. The recorder still whirred and it picked up his heavy breathing and beating heart. It even felt the small tear land on it's plastic surface and the wiping thumb clearing it away.

_Dean and Castiel looked up. Gabriel and Balthazar were with them, looking petrified at the walls around them cracked open. _

_ Then they all grinned._

_ "Sammy!" Dean exclaimed excitedly. But the joy wasn't returned as Sam's face looked worriedly down at the slack figure of Grey. He was holding her up but her head was limp and lids closed. _

_ Gabriel ran towards them, closely followed by Balthazar and then-_

_ "Grey?" Sam said quietly, shaking her. "Grey, wake up. C'mon, please, no, why aren't you waking up!" His words were shouted so loudly. _

_ The four newcomers breathed._

_ No longer were they in a cell. They all stood in a hole in the basement, surrounded by dirt and electrical wiring. _

_ "What the Hell just happened." Gabriel stated, a little shy of utterly shocked. Sam looked up with tears welling up in his eyes._

_ "Dean, Cas.. Why isn't she waking up?" He said, his words practically begging them. _

_ "I..." Dean said, shaking his head. "Who is she?" Sam's jaw tightened. _

_ "It's Grey." He said as though it was obvious. "C'mon, help me!" Gabriel moved and placed his hand lightly on her temple. A jolt of electricity jumped through his bones and he snatched his hand away. _

_ "Jesus!" He shouted in pain._

_ "Stop dicking around Gabe, fix her!"_

_ "I can't." He admitted looking at his hand._

* * *

"I did the right thing, didn't I? I brought you to a hospital. If angels can't fix you then doctors are you next bet, right?" Sam said painfully into the recording. He waved it in his hand lightly before clicking it off.

He jogged upstairs, threw the device on the table and stared out the window.

"And everyone forgot. Dean doesn't know who you are. The other knows but that's 'cause you're a prophet. They all forgot Purgatory." He heard a creaking step and jolted to the side. He relaxed when he saw his brother.

"Dude, go to sleep for God's sake." He said un sympathetically.

"No, you jerk. Go kiss your angel."

"I'm not gonna kiss Cas, why the Hell do you keep telling me to?"

"Oh wouldn't you like to know." Sam laughed and smiled bitterly at Dean. His brother sighed and took a few steps closer to his brother and awkwardly pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"I've never been good with this kinda crap and you know that. But... I know she meant a lot to you, that Grey chick. I don't blame you for wanting to fix it. You've done everything you can."

"Apparently not."

"If an archangel can't fix her then the Hospital's the next best thing." Dean said, echoing Sam's previous comment.

"You ever love someone because they're stupid?"

"Dude, you're my brother, 'course I do." Dean smirked. Sam shoved him.

"Jerk."

"Bitch. Sleep before I tranquillise your ass." Dean said and walked back upstairs, feet plodding on each step.

"Stop eating so much pie then."

"Pie is amazing!" Dean shouts from above.

"But diabetes isn't you dick!" Sam shouts after him. He hears a chuckle and something sounding like 'I deserved that' before he hears a bed creak. He looks outside and the clouds break showing off the morning sun. The rays are warm on his skin and he closes his eyes. He hears a flutter of wings. After knowing Castiel for so long, he knows they don't belong to him.

A hand lands on his shoulder.

"Heya Sammy, my boy." Gabriel says.

"How is she?" Sam asks plainly.

"Good morning to you too. She's asleep still, but fine." He reports back to him. "I know Dean and Cassy don't remember anything, but I do." Sam turns and stares at him. "Yeah and so does Balthy. Just the two not-love birds."

"Typical." Sam sighs. He looks around the room and sits down, motioning for the archangel to do the same. "And hi."

"My my, Sammy, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were warming up to me."

"Don't call me Sammy." Sam huffs out quietly. Gabriel roles his eyes and slumps even further into the chair.

"She was a good kid."

"She is. Not dead yet Gabriel." Sam said and Gabriel shrugged.

"You know I'm meant to protect her?" He said his eyes landing on Sam's. "Prophets are meant to be guarded by archangels and 'cause so many of us are dead she got super powers. Anyway, the things is... I dunno, I guess there might be some kind of connection between us. Grey and me.

"She told me to tell you that she likes it when you read to her." Gabriel says, attempting a comforting smile. Sam nods with the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

"Thanks. Can I call you Gabe?"

"Sure thing big guy." He says and stands. "You need anything just ask." Sam nods and thanks him again, he puts out a hand and Gabriel takes it warmly. He'd normally say stupid remarks and make him laugh uncomfortably or - more likely - just make the situation worse. But he doesn't because Gabriel, may his Father help him, cares about these damned Winchester brothers more than he can care to admit.

* * *

_Grey's sitting on the bed looking away from Sam's large body. The blanket was creased and messy, barely covering Sam's hips, showing off his extremely muscled body and the scars his life has given him. She sighed and walked slowly to the other side, trying not to wake him. Planting a small kiss on his forehead and moving some of the stray hairs from his head, she stands and walks to the door with a knife and paper in her hand._

_ With a single glance back as Sam moves his body, reaching out for a heat that's just left him, he shivers and Grey stares longer than she believes she should. But there's a smile on his face and it's one Grey takes for granted. She commits it to memory and looks away._

_ "I'll be seeing you." She whispers to unhearing ears. A tear falls down her cheek and she wipes it away. "Bye Sam." _

_ He mumbles an unconscious reply._

_ "Love you..." _


End file.
